Lost and Found
by DreamMaster08X
Summary: Starscream, now aligned with only himself, travels the country in search of any means of survival. But with each trek, he begins to question whether or not he has made the right choices in the past. This changes drastically when he forms an unlikely bond with the last being in the galaxy he would expect to happen so. Rated T for Cybertronian swearing, violence, and future chapters.
1. Prologue: Monopoly on Truth

**[Edit: 6/27/13] Updated the Prologue with a new scene. Be sure to check it out!**

Lyric from '_Monopoly on Truth' _by Epica

_Can we trust all the facts_  
_And believe that the fancied wise are just and needed?_  
_Do we want to rely on the views_  
_Of the righteous ones who are succeeding?_  
_If you look all around and you see _  
_All the things that are not meant to be_  
_Then you know it's time to let them go_

* * *

**Prologue**

_Monopoly on Truth_

Everything felt off.

Like a deep, illusive dream.

Except it wasn't a dream. _It was all real_.

And she was hoping for the prior supposition.

A small, blue creature stumbled her way through a large, glowing portal of flashing lights, full of fluorescent green, white, and blue colors. Her vision was much too blurry to comprehend the simplest features.

When the flashing colors dissolved, her optics looked and caught a sight of yellow. Somebody had their arm wrapped around her and was helping her to walk to their supposed destination. She didn't know where the figure was leading her, but she knew it had to be somewhere safe.

Her vision became sparingly clearer and saw two other figures. One looked all white with sort of orange highlights and had a stout, bulky build. The other towered over her, with thick red and blue tints and a very muscular tone. Both looked like mechs. The white/orange mech looked like he was saying something, though she couldn't tell what because her audio receptors were completely cut off from all current sound. Only her blank thoughts remained.

The same mech took a hold of her enormously brittle chassis, directed her to a large, metal slab, and gently set her down in a sitting position. All of the sudden, a giant servo held up her helm. Her optics squinted sporadically due to a brightly shining light straight at them, shifting between each separate optic. A few kliks later, the light stopped and her vision cleared a bit more, though she still couldn't make out what they were saying.

Suddenly, the giant red/blue mech came into view and said something to the other two mechs, including a third mech- giant, round, dark green color- and suddenly the yellow mech took her with both arms and carried her off down a long corridor.

Too many thoughts. Most of them blank.

Until one came into view.

_Full of….full of vengeance._

It…it seemed like too much to handle.

_Full of vengeance...sorrow…bitterness…regret…_

Everything appeared to ease whe shewas placed down in a rather warm, metal cot. Unfortunately, the even warmer arms that cradled her frail body left her chassis. She watched the golden figure hold her helm in an embracing manner. Then the warmth left again and she saw the figure leave the unfamiliar room, a door shutting behind him.

That was when all energy left her body and cause her to instantly fall into stasis.

* * *

**Bang!**

The loud noise of metal vibrated throughout the canyon.

A lone figure, tall, silver, covered in a thick layer of freshly made battle scars protruding in multiple, systematic directions all over his metallic torso, was thrashing himself against the bluff of the canyon, trying to forcefully removed what seemed to be a clamp incarcerating his sleek, slender wings, preventing the figure from using any means of flight.

**Bang!**

The metallic figure hammered the constricted clamp against the cliff a second time, with glowing red eye-like lights burning with a desire to free himself from the imprisonment of the lock barring his only means of escaping this dust-filled crevice.

**Bang!**

One last pound against the wall was all he needed. The figured gasped as his giant wings had broken free.

**Clang!**

The clamp hit the ground with a loud _thud_ as the figure leaned against the face of the cliff. He shut his eyes and took several deep breathes after the numerous attempts to break free of his security device.

Within moments, he finally gathered his thoughts.

'_I have been a fool. Made mistakes. Monumental ones…'_

The figure opened his eyes. Blazing hot, red with vengeful fury. A wicked smirk gradually raised from his lengthy, slender face.

'…_But I have gained a clearer understanding of my place in this universe…'_

Slowly, he pushed himself away from the craggy wall, straightening himself out.

'…_Of who I am…'_

The figure raised his armed up and straightened them out. With a firm kick, he jumped high off the ground, gracefully transforming himself into a modern, sleek, F-16 military jet.

'…Starscream: Aligned with no side…'

Boosting his thrusters to maximum power, the jet blasted out of the canyon, flying north into the cloudy evening sky, away from the wretched pit. He ran the final thought through his head…

'…Servant to no one!'

…not knowing that it would eventually become a lie.


	2. I: I Can't Take It Anymore

**The chapter's main musical inspiration and title is actually an ambience piece called 'I Can't Take It Anymore' by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. It comes from their soundtrack for David Fincher's 2011 film adaptation of _The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo._ This is one of my absolute favorite soundtracks of all time. It evokes such a magical blend of wonder, bitterness, beauty, and sorrow that few other films scores can do.**

**Might I add listening to this musical piece on a loop while reading this? You'll have a much better sense of what I was feeling while writing this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_I Can't Take it Anymore_

The gusty winds of the cold, black, midnight sky felt great on Starscream's wings. Gliding through the transparent surface of the clouds, he sunk in it's magnificent, misty shade. Never in so many vorns did he feel so calm and lax while performing such a meek task as flying.

For the first time in eons, he finally felt the freedom he never had when he was Second-In-Command to his former master Lord Megatron.

_Lord Megatron_…

He shuddered at the thought. He devoted all of his time working for- no, _breaking_ his spine for that miserable, despicable being! After all that Starscream had done for him: wiping out entire populaces back on Cybertron, eradicating vast caverns full of energon here on Earth (with the help of numerous vehicons at his own command), and having to tend to his master's every needs, whether it was something immensely important, such as liberating a massive enemy stronghold, or a simple task even a brain-damaged turbofox could complete, like fetching Megatron a fresh cube of energon he's too slothful to retrieve on his own. Primus, he even extinguished the spark of an Autobot 'in cold blood', as the human inhabitants of this planet would call it. And how is he repaid? By being subjected to immediate extermination! Well, not quite. One single err from the Autobots managed to buy Starscream enough time to _try_ and reach out to Megatron. Thankfully, it worked. But not for long. Someone threatened to stand in the way of him and his master.

_Airachnid…_

_That traitorous, wretched scum Airachnid!_

Many eons ago, not too long after Starscream made the ranks of the Decepticons, the sadistic spider-like creature willingly devoted her spark to hunting down the Autobots for said faction. However, because of an incident involving her…increasingly time-consuming hobby…she was forced to defect in search of new blood for sport.

It was quite pleasant not having her lurking around the Decepticon base on Cybertron, guessing whether or not she was about to fly of the handle… no, she was always in control of her lucidity. It was the anticipation of whether or not she _wanted _to decapitate the being standing in front of her, eviscerate every single one of his/her body parts, and mount the being's head above the door to her quarters.

But just a few solar-cycles ago, Airachnid had the _audacity_ to show up at the threshold of the Nemesis and 'groveled' at the pedes of Megatron to convince him to let her rejoin the Decepticon ranks. He was even imprudent enough to give her the position of _lieutenant_ opposite of Starscream.

_Lieutenant!? After all the backstabbing _(metaphorically and literally)_ that she has done for the Decepticons!?_

He needed to stop and rest. Just _thinking_ about that eight-legged freak made his gastrointestinal system utterly nauseating.

Starscream flew down through the thick layer of the clouds and glided himself along the underside in search of shelter. Since it was still nighttime, there won't be many of those so-called humans outside, so he thought it would be safer to hover at a lower height for easier scouting.

_Humans._

He could never understand why the Autobots _wanted_ to aid this inferior race in the first place.

As he observed the sights below him, he noticed strange grand formations- mountains, as the humans called them- spiking out of the ground. There was a deep crevice high above ground level, surrounded by towering foundations of rock. It looked like the perfect place for cover and recharging. And isolation.

Starscream was going to need it.

He slowed down his thrusters and started circling around the deep. empty valley, until he coasted low enough to safely make the landing. Once he protracted the wheels from his undercarriage and touched down on solid ground, he then transformed into his main form, a sleek, insect-like body. It felt so good to stretch out his limbs after several joors of strenuous flight. He must have flown at least 400 miles up north. He needed this.

With that thought cleared out of his head, Starscream fell down onto his aft with a _thud_, out of sheer exhaustion.

He lay down on the warm, dry gravel, basking under the shine of the bright moonlight. It felt so serene and tranquil in his lifecycle. Not since Cybertron. _Before _the war. He looked up at stars. So stunning. So dazzling. So elegant. Just staring into their dim yet luminous spectacles can obliterate even the most chaotic of problems from the mind like they never existed.

He even forgot why he was flying away in the first place…

…flying away…from Jasper.

From the Autobots…

…_and_ the Decepticons.

Primus, Starscream's current situation was worse that he remembered it to be.

He didn't want to stress himself out by just thinking about it. He needs to rest.

He caught one last glimpse of the stars before slowly closed his optics and began to recharge.

* * *

_Th-this place seems strangely familiar…_

_She couldn't tell where she was, but she knows she's been here before…_

_It was a black room. She was too dazed and confused to make out the rest of the details. It was a long black room. Like a hall. The ceiling looked like it curved downward, like a dome._

_It wasn't until she looked down when she was finally re-gathered her thoughts._

_Her hazy vision began to clear slowly, and started to see what as at the end of the hall. It looked like a bowl-shaped wall covered entirely with windows. At the foot of the hall were several glowing lights of a shaded jade. They looked like mainframes. Like a workstation._

_Then she realized…_

'_Oh Primus, is this the Nemesis!?'_

_It looked just like the Decepticon warship. It even held the same, cold, dreadful feeling when she was last there, along with the other Autobots, on a rescue mission to recover Agent Fowler._

_She saw a familiar figure in the distance. Squat, bulky, gleaming with a red shade that must've gone scarred and worn out from battle. She noticed there was a single horn protruding on one side of his head. Wait a minute…_

'_Cliffjumper!? He's alive?! It can't be! He was turned into a lifeless zombie! I saw him!'_

_He was being forcefully dragged across the peculiar black hall by two darker-colored silhouettes. Eradicons._

_Confirmation: This _is_ the Nemesis. But how the frag did she end up here!?_

_It took here a klik to realize that there was somebot standing in front of the mainframe. Megatron? No. Megatron was tall and husky. This bot was more thin and lanky. It could be Soundwave._

_The eradicons reached the end of the command bridge and threw Cliffjumper onto the ground. The bot heard this and turned around to reveal himself to the injured Autobot._

_She recognized him the klik her optics caught his. She had forgotten all about him._

_Starscream._

_Primus, no. Not him!_

_He began speaking down to the beaten and bruised bot, though she couldn't make out a single word from him. He began to look furious. Blood-hungry. Like he was about to…to…to strike._

_No… this can't be happening!_

_She won't allow it. Not while she had something to say about it!_

_She ran…dashed…sprinted across the room. But it felt like the room was growing even longer. And longer. And longer._

_She saw Starscream retract his servo back, ready to kill._

_She won't make it in time!_

_He struck_

_**CLANG!**_

_With a thundering shout, she screamed._

"_CLIIIIIIIIFFJUUUUUMPEEEEERR!"_

* * *

The next thing Arcee knew, she was gasping drasticallly for air. She saw a faint light above her.

A single, dim light shined down from a tall ceiling. She looked down and noticed herself lying down on a berth. Was she knocked unconscious and brought under surveillance? This didn't seem like a chamber of the Nemesis.

She'd find out soon enough.

Arcee heard the doorway open, expecting to see someone such as Knockout, the Cons' Chief Medical Officer, or Breakdown, the medic's field partner, a Wrecker.

Or _Airachnid_. '_Ugh…_', she shivered at the sheer thought of _her_.

Instead, she catches of flash yellow in her central vision.

[I heard you screaming! Is everything all right!?]

It was Arcee's partner, Bumblebee.

So it was only just a dream…

Bumblebee stared at her with frantically worried optics. It took her a moment to realize she was crying. Coolant had been running down her face. Arcee began to shiver.

Her field partner quickly rushed to her berth and held her tight in his embrace.

[Shh, shh…it's okay, Arcee. It must've been a bad dream.], he said, communicating through his electronic beeps.

She wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay, Bee. I'm sorry I disturbed you in your recharge."

[No, no, no, it's fine! I just wanted to make sure you weren't hurt.], Bee replied.

He held her for another klik before slowly inching away from her.

[Is there anything I could do for you, 'Cee?], he asked.

"As a matter of fact…could you stay here with me in my quarters tonight? Just to be safe?" she answered.

[Anything for you, friend.] Bumblebee walked around the berth and hopped onto the opposite side. Since Arcee was the smallest of the bots, she could squeeze onto a berth with another bot with no problem. He then lay down facing away from her and started to doze off into his deep slumber.

Arcee thought she wouldn't be able to sleep for deca-cycles after the demise of her former parnter, Cliffjumper. It only took three regular solar-cycles for her to recover. It was until just tonight when her earlier nightmares begin to haunt her again, though this time, with a different outcome. It must have been because of yesterday…

'No, don't think about _that_ now. I _need_ to recharge.', she thought.

With that final thought scrambling through her head, she quickly fell back into sleep.


	3. II: The Gravel Road

**This chapter's inspiration is James Newton Howard's instrumental piece known as '_The Gravel Road', _which comes from the soundtrack to the 2004 film, 'The Village', another one of my absolute favorite soundtracks. It's a very light and airy song, which I believe was the intention for the chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter II**

_The Gravel Road_

_He was light as a barb. He never felt so effervescent in his lifecycle. He could spend the rest of at cycle trapped in this moment if it meant he could escape from the pandemonium running thr-_

Just then, he woke up from his infinite slumber.

Starscream looked around. How did he get trapped in this blasted cha-

That's right. He forgot he needed a safe place for shelter, cover, and recharge. The spectacular vision he had during his slumber almost made him lose track of his thoughts.

Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing for him.

He sat up at stared up at the still-dark night sky. It must still only be dawn.

In the distance, Starscream saw an indistinct streak of light. Looks like he awoke from his recharge just in time to catch the sunrise. When he first arrived, ever since he caught sight of the radiant star, he want to spend at least one solar-cycle outside just to take in a single view of it's brilliant spectacle. Alas, however, he never had to spare time to do so. What, with his non-stop labor and back-breaking for the Decepticons. Megatron never allowed him a single cycle off to explore outside, no matter the amount of effort he put into his career. His master was paranoid that he might run off and either defect and join the Autobots, or plot against him (even though 97% of his plans backfired and ended with humiliation).

This was his first _proper_ hiatus Starscream ever had in centuries…no, _eons_. He wanted to savor every small piece of precious time he might have.

He looked up and spotted a tall, rocky structure sloping right next to him. It looked like a perfect place to stay and watch the sun.

He began to scale up the rocky surface of the mountain with sharp, lengthy talons. Sometimes, Starscream was thankful to have claws at times like this, or during battle, but at other times, he wished he could just have regular, non-destructive servos like any normal Cybertronian being, so he didn't have to risk holding anything with such delicacy so that it wouldn't shatter at his touch. About a quarter of the things he kept in his hand, whether it was a weapon or an energon glass, ended with them in remains because of his lack of carefulness.

He finally reached the zenith of the peak. This was the highest point of the mountain range as far as his optics could see. A perfect view.

With one last grasp, he hoisted himself up onto the cliff, perched himself on top of it, and sat down, letting his legs dangle over the edge.

Since it was still dark, Starscream doubted that any of the so-called 'humans' would take notice of him. During this time, most of them are recharging. They spend far more joors in deep slumber rather than using them for accomplishing much grander deeds! Developing breakthrough inventions. finding undiscovered specimens of life (until recently). At least do something with themselves!

'_Calm down, Starscream, not everybody has the passion and love for science and learning like you do.'_, he thought to himself.

He ran that thought into his mind again.

He _does_ have a passion for learning.

So why can't _he_ learn about the humans?

Megatron would have probably dismissed the simple idea of Starscream, or anybot, for that matter, taking a leave from the Nemesis to go exploring the 'alien' planet and study the actions and ways of the indefinite species. With his isolation at hand, this could be his only chance.

Suddenly, his optics point straight ahead, deep beyond the dim horizon. He took sight of it's astounding apparition. Maybe that's why his former master not once let him have a moment to himself like this; he'd want to go out many more times and enjoy it as much as he can.

The sun slowly began to rise from above the lush, arboreal mountains. Such a breathtaking view. He shamefully admitted it to himself… Not even Cybertron had a bold sight like this. It was... perfect… No other word. Just perfect…

_He could think about any thought and yet keep his sanity in touch._

Then he remembered yesterday.

_Well, almost._

In the previous solar-cycle, Starscream was taken into custody under the Autobots when that fragger _Airachnid_ left him for scrap in search of her own greedy actions. He tried to convince them that he wanted to join their team to save his own spark. It almost worked.

But one slip of the glossa concerning the past, and now he can't even stay in sight of them.

Of Optimus Prime…

Of Arcee…

It was that femme's fault for almost having his spark torn out! At the servos of her!

And yet, now, staring at the rising sun… he can't help but show the faintest amount of remorse for her. She lost her own partner… _because of himself._

He let it slip that he was the murderer of her teammate, Cliffjumper, a big loudmouth, if he ever knew one. But he didn't intentionally do so. They had both gotten of the subject of that traitorous scum, Airachnid, and Arcee mention that her hatred for said femme was pointed toward the fact that she lost a partner because of her. Already despising the slag-bag because she takes credit for every bit of _his _work, he pitched an outrage, confessing that he was the one responsible for the miserable oaf's demise. However, she claimed that he was never there. He suffered a horrible bout of confusion, which was interrupted she finally accused him.

"_You…"_

Just hearing that single word come out of her mouth made him shudder. She sound so terrifying… and not a lot of things do that to Starscream.

He knew that he was done for unless he had the means to defend himself. So he faked cowardice to lower her guard. It almost didn't work, since she forced him to fight to keep his spark alive. But in a single nano-klik, he managed to go in for a attack. Arcee was weakened from the unexpected blow to the system. He decided at this point to strike her down and finish her where she stood. However, she overpowered him and almost snuffed out his spark in cold energon, but, _thankfully_, one of the other 'Bots, Bumblebee, the scout, showed up and carried away the wounded femme.

More remorse poured through his emotionally wounded spark as the sun was halfway out it's daily bloom.

Starscream still didn't understand why Arcee rejected the fact of his confession of killing Cliffjumper in the first place. Unless, maybe it _wasn't _him? Of course it was! He bragged all about it to every living being on the Nemesis! Even Megatron could vouch for him!

Wait, maybe she wasn't talking about Cliff. Maybe somebody else in the past? Does that mean…?

'_Oh Primus, she's lost __**two**__ partners!?'_

No wonder she looked so vicious and blood-hungry every time Starscream saw her!

Vicious, blood-hungry, and….and…and somewhat…_beautiful_…

_Beautiful…_

'_Scrap, why the frag did that thought cross his mind!? She is an Autobot! And I'm a…a…'_

'…_.an outsider…'_

He could no longer call himself a Decepticon anymore….it _was_ kind of a relief.

Starscream never considered what he ever thought about Arcee. Before, when he was Second-in-Command, he couldn't stand the sight of her. Or any of the Autobots, for that matter. It was in his blood. But now… now, honestly, he doesn't know what to think.

For the next few kliks, he contemplated these thoughts while still watching the bright star. It has fully risen from the horizon now, still making its way up toward the sky.

Starscream decided to use this time and the newborn solar light to scout for nearby energon deposits. He zoomed in with his optics and began reconnaissance.

'_Beautiful…'_

Is that what he really thought of the Autobot femme?

There was no other word he could use to describe Arcee. It was his honest opinion. She had a sort of graceful presence, even when beat the scrap out of the vehicons...or him, for that matter.

Megatron would _surely_ have his spark for even _thinking_ about her like that.

But, alas, Starscream now has something else on his mind.

He spotted a cave. There could be unmined energon.

The ex-Con pushed himself off the edge of the cliff with the heels of his pedes, twirled himself down, transforming himself to his jet mode, and cruised across the valley toward the cavern.

* * *

It was a rough night, but she managed to get through it just fine.

Arcee gradually reawakened from her recharged and once again caught sight of the dim hanging from the ceiling. She felt warm. Just then, she rolled over to her left side and saw a flash of yellow.

Bumblebee.

That's right, she woke up in the middle of the lunar-cycle, screaming her spark out. The young Autobot was the first to take notice, and offered her consolation to stay with her for the rest of the cycle.

She was grateful for it, too.

Arcee heard Bumblebee online his optics and sitting up to look into her own.

[Feeling better, 'Cee?] he asked with a sympathetic expression.

"Yeah, Bee. Much better, in fact." She responded. She was lying of course. Sort of. His comfort did help her to sleep better.

Arcee propped herself up from the berth and slid off the side. Bumblebee slowly did the same.

She checked her internal clock. It was late morning. Bumblebee and her must've had a good night's recharge.

The rest of the team might be up as well.

She opened the entrance to her quarters and traversed through the halls, with Bumblebee following right behind her.

She was right. The members of Team Prime were all up and about. Ratchet, of course, was at his workstation, his servos typing away on the control panel, along with Optimus Prime standing right beside him and observing the screens. Bulkhead was standing in front of the diminutive TV. Even the humans were here, all sitting on the couch watching the TV as well. Must be the weekend. It seems there was a, what they call, 'monster truck rally', taking part live. It made Arcee sick to her gastrointestinal system. Miko and Bulkhead were having the time of there lives. Jack seemed to enjoy it okay, but not like the other two. Raf looked like he'd rather be someplace else doing something else.

After a few nano-kliks, their red and blue leader turned his head and spotted the late risers. "Arcee. Bumblebee. Is everything alright?" He said as he began walking over to the two. Everybody else heard him and fixed eyes and optics on the bystanders. "The both of you were slumbering later than usual this morning."

"Everything was fine last night.", Arcee said. She was lying, of course. She gave a subtle, cautionary look to Bumblebee not to blab. She wanted to wait until the kids were gone, because she didn't want to alarm them yet.

Bumblebee recognized her stare and kept careful.

[Yes, we were just overtired after yesterday's operation.], He finally replied.

"What happened yesterday that was so important?", Jack had asked.

"A regular scouting mission like the rest. Just a little more… demanding." Arcee had to quickly think to stretch the answer truth.

After the awkward pause that followed, everyone had gone back to their mundane actions. Bumblebee took a spot next to Bulkhead to watch the rally.

Arcee felt a little queasy. She knew that she wouldn't feel better unless she expressed her problems to somebot.

She walked over to the Prime. He was the only one here that would know what to do.

"Optimus, can I talk to you in private? In my quarters? ", she asked her leader.

The Prime turned his head and looked down at the femme. "Is it important?", he responded.

"It would be for me if I got this problem of my chassis.", she implored.

"Very well. Ratchet, will you let me know if there are any commotions?" Optimus inquired the hoary medic.

Ratchet slightly turned his head and gave a soft nod. Then the other two headed toward the hallway. Nobody seemed to have been paying attention except for Bee.

_Good. At this moment, the less, the better._

* * *

Arcee took a seat on her berth while Optimus Prime stood opposite, facing her.

"What is the matter, Arcee?", the fearless leader asked with a troubled look.

It took her a klik or two to finally sum up the courage to tell her Prime the tragic news.

"About yesterday's mission….when I was keeping my optics on Starscream….the two of us had gotten to talking…"

"…And?" Optimus knew that wasn't all.

Arcee began to shudder. She was dreading this moment from the start.

She took a deep intake. "….it turns out _he_ was the one responsible for Cliffjumper's demise."

Optimus closed his optics at the word 'demise'. He looked pained, but still rather calm. She thought he would at least show some more resentment than that.

After an entire klik of total silence, he at last opened his optics.

"I'm….sorry that you had to find out this way.", he said. "This may come as a bit of a shock to the others."

Arcee looked puzzled. "Why? We knew that he was a Decepticon at the time." She wasn't sure he was aligned with them now. In fact, where the scrap _did_ he flee?

"It's not that. I am fully aware of that past situation." Optimus said. "It's just that…" he paused. For the first time ever, Arcee noticed that the Prime was…afraid.

Then he spoke.

"I….I have something to confess, Arcee."

The Autobot leader _never_ kept secrets from the team… at least not anything that could put their sparks at risk.

"I've been watching Starscream seem malicious in battle, but not once, in my eons as leader of the Autobots, have I ever seen him take a life of one of his enemies single-handedly, because of his own spitefulness.

"But he _has _killed hundreds- maybe even _thousands_- in the past, hasn't he?" She interjected.

"Of course he has….but only because he was at the mercy of Megatron." Optimus concluded. "Without his master standing in the way, I would never see Starscream so much as lay a single claw on another living organism."

"B-but….h-h-he tried to _kill_ me when I tried to let him go!" Arcee began.

"Out of fear, perhaps… did you threaten him in any way?"

Arcee froze.

As a matter of fact…she _did_ intimidate him into a fight with her because of his cowardice…._Primus_, she never gave that notion a second though.

Still frozen, she tried to force the next words out of her lip plates. "…..I…I...I-I might have daunted him into a fight to save his hide…."

Optimus raised his brow. It wasn't necessarily judgmental, but she could detect a hint of disappointment in his expression.

Then…..he _smiled_. "Maybe you should be so forceful next time, then.", he said.

Arcee couldn't help but smile as well. It only lasted a nano-klik when she realized he _did_ kill Cliff, after all, which quickly turned into a frown.

He frowned again. That was more like him. "I know it's very hard for you to accept Cliffjumper's fate, but I can promise you….if Starscream loses the influence of Megatron, he might have second thoughts about the Autobots. I _guarantee_ you that." He smiled again.

She could his words to consideration. Then spoke again. "…Optimus?"

"Yes, Arcee?"

"…promise you won't let me be so rational again. Will you?", she asked with a slight grin.

"I promise.", he said without breaking his smile. _This_ was more _unlike_ him.

Both their optics stared into each other's for quite some time.

"Optimus!"

There meeting was interrupted by the presence of the team's medic bursting through the door.

"What is it, Ratchet?", Optimus asked.

"The scanners are picking up a signal far north from here."

"Vehicons excavating an energon mine, perhaps?", Arcee interposed.

"Maybe…", Ratchet began to say. "…but what's very unusual about this source….this time, the energon signals aren't as strong as they usually are."

"Meaning…?" Arcee waited for Ratchet to finish her sentence.

"…they might not be out to mine the energon. More or less….it might not be the Decepticons."

The three stood and sat in silence for a few nano-kliks, before Optimus interjected.

"Arcee, will you take Bumblebee and go investigate the power source?"

She nodded without hesitation.

"Ratchet, retrieve the coordinates of the location and activate the groundbridge."

"As you, Optimus." With that said, Ratchet walked out of her quarters.

Optimus then stared down at Arcee. "Perhaps you will need this exploration to clear your head."

She nodded once again. "Maybe I do."

Arcee walked out of her berth room to find Bee.

'_Maybe I do.'_ Never has she been so right in her life.

* * *

**Sorry if the end felt a bit rushed. Either way, Please, don't be stingy with the reviews!**


	4. III: Dark Star

**[Edit: (6/27/13] Chapter 3 Parts 1 and 2 have now been fused together into one. Instead of 'What Lies Beneath', the title of the overall chapter has been changed to Part 1's title, 'Dark Star'.**

Lyrics from _'Dark Star_ by Tarja Turunen

_Burning out in the distance you're falling  
Starting to fade  
Light is condemned to be tied down  
By gravity close to the end_

_Do you still remember?  
Before the weight that pulled you under  
Dared you to rise_

_Where are you now?_  
_Are you proud of the life you wasted?_  
_Wearing the crown of illusion you created_  
_You'll never know what it feels like to shine_  
_You're the master in your own mind_  
_But a slave to all_  
_You are a dark star_

_Empty is never enough  
You keep clawing for what you can't reach  
Smothering space filled without any grace and I can't breathe_

_Nothing lasts forever  
Even the stars will loose their luster returning to dust_

_Where are you now?_  
_Are you proud of the life you wasted?_  
_Wearing the crown of illusion you created_  
_You'll never know what it feels like to shine_  
_You're the master in your own mind_  
_But a slave to all_  
_You are a dark star_

* * *

**Chapter III**

_Dark Star_

"Three joors. _Three joors_! And not even the slightest hint of fragging energon!"

Starscream slammed his servo against the cave wall in frustration.

***Boom!***

The puny fleshlings must have unearthed every last single scrap of it. Impossible. There were no marked tracks or any signs of excavating equipment.

Maybe he just hit rock bottom again.

Like last time…

_Great Unicron_, he forgot all about that fatal occurrence. The solar star's mind-washing powers does work in mysterious ways.

Before the Autobot incident, Megatron had discovered Starscream's treacherous intentions to overthrow him, and brought him single-handed to an undisclosed location to confront him. What was even worse is that the location was a secret cave full of energon that Starscream had so desperately tried to keep hidden from his master. Megatron went frantic and revealed that he had been watching him continue on with his plans, confidently sure all of them would fail miserably.

But then he decided he's had enough of Starscream's shenanigans, as thus sentenced him to execution. Fortunately, it was thwarted by the presence of the Autobot femme and her fleshling partner, allowing him to escape from Megatron's wrath.

He never _did_ thank Arcee for, for a lack of a better word, '_saving'_ him.

"Impossible! She didn't _intentionally_ save me!", Starscream said to himself.

'_She didn't __**not**__ save. You body fragments would be mounted above Megatron's berth had it not been for her!',_ he heard someone say. It sounded really deep and eerie.

"Who said that?!", Starscream responded manically.

'_Up here.'_

He looked up. There was nothing up on the ceiling. What the scrap!?

'_Not literally, you metal-headed fool!'_, the voice said.

It took him a nano-klik to realize that the strange voice sounded exactly like his own. His conscience. But why is it speaking to him just now?

"Why are you here?", he asked his conscience. "If you've been in my head since my creation, why are you only _now_ just now trying to communicate with me?"

'_What do you mean? I've presented myself to you in the past now, have I?'_

In the past? The frag was he talking about!?

Starscream quietly exclaimed, "Not once have I ever heard a much as an intake from you!"

'_Oh? You haven't? Then you must not have remembered."_

Now his conscience wasn't making a single ounce of sense. "What the frag are you talking about!? With that said, he banged his fist against the wall again.

***Boom!***

'_You don't remember?_', the voice began to sound menacing. _'Over four million years ago? The Hall of Records? The city of Kaon? Back on your home planet of Cybertron?'_

_Hall of Records? Kaon!? Cybertron!?_ He couldn't process a single amount of information about _any_ of that! He swore that not _once_ had he _ever_ heard that voice _anywhere_!

Starscream realized he has heard enough conundrums from his conscience.

"Unless you're going to say something that makes even the slightest expanse of sense, you're completely wasting my precious time!"

'_So you're saying you don't even recall your own _past_'_, Starscreamwas starting to become furious. _'When you were walking down the streets of Kaon and-'_

He lost it.

"**SHUT THE FRAG UP**!"

And with that last sentence fired out of his vocal system, he crashed his fists once more.

***BOOM!***

He didn't anticipate the events that were about to come next.

It began with a little, solitary noise…

***Crack***

That didn't sound good. And Starscream was right.

The entire face of the cavern wall collapsed with a rage.

***CRAAAAAA****AAAAAAAAAAA****ASSSSSSSSSHHHHHH***

What followed next was what Starscream didn't expect. His grim scowl slowly turned into a giant smirk.

Energon.

And not just that. _Lots_ of energon. All to himself!

He couldn't contain his excitement any longer. He practically pranced his way over to collect the sapphire-colored

* * *

***MEANWHILE***

A flash of iridescent green flew through Arcee's vision as she and Bumblebee went through the groundbridge portal.

The two Autobots then transformed from their alternate vehicular modes to their mandatory Cybertronian forms and looked back to watch the bridge dissolve from space into thin air.

They then looked facing towards the mouth of the cavern and started walking. The both of them kept silent until they stood right in front of the entrance. The mech gawked down and pointed at the soil. Footprints. _Cybertronian _footprints.

[Look!], he shouted using his bleeps. [Someone's been here!]

Arcee turned to her bigger, golden-colored partner. "Well of course, Bee. Unless there was a massive shift from an earthquake that opened up a heap of energon crystals, I'd assume that there were Decepticons involved in the sudden surge of energon as detected on the mainframe back at the base."

[But that's the strangest part…], Bumblebee began. […there's only one set of footprints.]

"You're right, Bee." This certainly puzzled Arcee. "Why would they send only a single soldier instead of a whole unit of eradicons to excavate it?"

[Maybe it's Soundwave], the young mech concluded.

"Maybe so, but we'll have to venture deeper into the cave to find out."

They walked through the cavern for a couple kliks until they came to an end, where they were met with a divided passage leading to three different halls: a left hall, a right hall, and a semi-right hall. Footprints led through all of the segments.

[Your call, 'Cee.], Bumblebee told his smaller, blue partner. [Where do you think we should go?]

There were three sections and only the two of them. "There seem to be more prints leading into the right and semi-right ways", she suggested. "...So I think we should split up and head in those two directions."

[I'll take the semi-right.], Bumblebee volunteered.

"Okay, then I'll go right.", Arcee proclaimed.

* * *

***LATER***

After spending a few more kliks roaming the rather insipid passage, Arcee already began to grow tired and weary. Strange. She seldom gets exhausted this early in the solar-cycle. Even with the nightmare she had last night, she still had a decent enough recharge, courteous of Bumblebee.

Suddenly, her mind mysteriously started to slowly give in.

_She saw a familiar figure in the distance. Squat, bulky, gleaming with a red shade that must've gone scarred and worn out from battle. She noticed there was a single horn protruding on one side of his head._

Oh no, not this again.

_He was being forcefully dragged across the peculiar black hall by two darker-colored silhouettes._

Arcee shook her head. "Calm down, 'Cee.", she told herself. "It was only a bad dream." Or at least she hoped.

_There was somebot standing in front of the mainframe. The eradicons reached the end of the command bridge and threw Cliffjumper onto the ground. The bot heard this and turned around to reveal himself to the injured Autobot._

She kept on walking down the gloomy corridors of the deep cave. Her energy had slowly risen back up since her hallucination.

But alas, she had spoken too soon.

_He began speaking down to the beaten and bruised bot, though she couldn't make out a single word from him. _

Arcee smacked her own face to wake herself from the delusion. That helped a _little_ bit.

All of the sudden, she saw a dim yet luminous glow from the end of the hall. That must be where the energy spike had radiated from on the map.

_He began to look furious. Blood-hungry. Like he was about to…to…to strike._

She crept closer and closer to the faded light.

_She ran…dashed…sprinted across the room. But it felt like the room was growing even longer. And longer. And longer._

She reached the turn, drew out her firing arms, and held herself slowly back against the wall. She inched to the foot of the corner and peaked around. She saw a lone figured breaking chunks of energon crystals off the wall. She recognized the shape, color, and stance of the figure.

It turned out it wasn't the Decepticons after all.

"Starscream.", she whispered to herself.

A burst full of vengeance filled Arcee's spark. But then she recalled her talk with Prime. '_Make sure I don't do anything rational.'_ She forced that promise into here head.

_She saw Starscream retract his servo back, ready to kill._

A thousand thoughts ran through her mind now. All of them uncomfortable and wrathful. _'Remember your oath to yourself, Arcee!'_

_He struck_

_**CLANG!**_

Too late. She already decided.

She ran out of the corner with a passion

_With a thundering shout, she screamed._

"_STAAAAARRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSCRRREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAM!"_

The ex-Con turned around just as Arcee tackled him furiously to the ground and pinned him down.

What the femme didn't take into account was the fragile pillar behind Starscream that was holding up the weight of the room. She had tackled the mech straight into it, causing the pillar to shatter into multiple fragments. The chamber began to collapse.

Starscream's optics widened at the horrid sight of Arcee's blood-hungry face.

"A-A—A-Arcee!?", the frightened mech stammered.

The femme raised her armed fist in the air, ready to strike. She was showing her most evil grin.

"Miss me, slag-eater!?", she said in her most ghastly voice. _Never_ had she looked so horrific in her life-cycle!

She wasn't paying attention to the collapsing cave. Luckily, Starscream _was_. His optics widened even further. He noticed a giant cluster of rocks above the two that were about to break apart, fall, and crush the both of them.

"_**Arcee, watch out**_!", he bellowed out.

Arcee's face froze just as Starscream willingly forced the femme off of him and, with all of his might, pushed her as far away from the falling stones as he could. She fell against the cave wall and caught sight of the Seeker falling over face down and being crushed by countless ceiling rocks. It took her half a nano-klik to realize what was happening.

'_A cave-in!'_

Quickly, she ducked for cover, shut her optics as tight as she could, and braced herself. Rapidly, one by one, rocks fell and formed a barrier, sealing off the only ways out of the cavern, and toppled over, suppressing what seemed like every inch of it.

'_Primus, please let this nightmare stop!'_, Arcee prayed.

'_Primus, please…'_, she prayed again.

'_Primus...please...'_

Suddenly, silence…

* * *

_She slowly opened her optics. Her vision was tremendously blurry. She could only make out the afternoon light of the icy, grey, overcast sky. She tried to move, but could not lift a single digit. Something was holding her down. An obstruction of some sort. Her head was to exhausted to even turn around._

_She opened her mouth to scream, but all that came out was silence. Help wasn't going to be coming anytime soon. Until then, the only thing left to do now is wait._

_How did this happen? What the frag happened!? Her mind was very fragile at the moment. All she could recall was herself running. Running from __**something**__. Whatever it was, she couldn't remember. While running- no, sprinting- something came falling from above, out of nowhere, fell on top of her, and knocked her unconscious._

_So helpless. She felt so helpless. She was going to rust under a giant pile of scrap with no means of calling for support._

_Wait. Something- a giant shadow- was heading this way. No…some__**one**__._

_The shadow scurried over She and stared down at the lonely spark trapped under the hefty mound of debris. Her vision was still blurred; she couldn't comprehend any of the simple features that the bot had. Not even his or her colors. The mech had said something to her, but she couldn't comprehend what. He probably asking a question, to see if the trapped femme was alright. It didn't matter. She couldn't perceive or express a word or sound._

_The bot then quickly kneeled down, dug it's servos underneath the rubble, and forced it up with all of it's might. Slowly, but surely, the weight of the rubble was taken off of her chassis. She could move now. She sluggishly used her digits to crawl inch by inch away from the ground where the rubble laid._

_Suddenly, servos burrowed under her body as she was being picked up and carried by the stranger. His arms felt strong and big- she was sure now that it was a mech. Her optics slowly began to recover, and she noticed a deep shade of red in the mech's casing. She looked up at his face, mouth covered in a protective case of metal plating, and saw a deep, fluorescent blue light emanating from his optics. The bright optics looked back down at her._

_The last thing she remembered, before drifting of into a deep slumber, was the sight of the corners of the mech's mouth cover rising up, indicating a smile._

Arcee opened her optics. Complete darkness. Only the faint, glowing light radiating from her optics provided a means of seeing.

All that the femme could see around her were giant chunks of fallen rock. _'Scrap, how did all of this happen!?'_, she thought to herself. Even after a klik or two, she still couldn't process the facts clearly enough. She needed to think. _Hard_. While she started to move the large masses, she began with her recollecting.

_Arcee, along with her partner, Bumblebee, were sent to scout the cave. They reached a crossroad and split to cover more ground._ She had moved half a dozen pieces._ What else?_

_She walked for quite some time. She then came across a small energon deposit. __**Then**__ the cave-in?_ A dozen rocks. _No. There's got to be more to that!_ She must've suffered a blow to the head.

She move one single rock that caused a chain reaction, making all of the ones above it to collapse rapidly. After the diminutive landslide, a tiny flash of two dim, dark red lights lit up the cavern.

That was when Arcee's blank mind whirled into a pool of rage.

There, under a giant pile of stone, lay Starscream.

The Autobot converted her servos into armaments and pointed them straight down at the defenseless Decepticon. Her face was scrunched up in fury, guns charging with power.

All she had to do was fire the trigger.

He did nothing. He _can't_ do anything, for that matter. Most of his body was buried underneath the fallen ruins. Only his head, neck, shoulder pads, and servos were exposed in her view. He was breathing loud and slowly, and his optics were half-open, so not much light was illuminating from their.

The Seeker finally raised his head, inch by inch, and stared up into Arcee's iridescent blue optics with a wide, petrified expression on his face. There was something streaming down from it. Some sort of liquid. Coolant.

He was…crying?

She heard Starscream inhale deeply and begin to whimper, coolant still dripping down from his face. Arcee realized that the Seeker caught sight of her arm cannons. He tilted his head back down, lips quivering, optics shut, and servos clenched. '_So this is how it is going to end with me'_, he thought. _'At the mercy of an irate Autobot…'_

The next sound he was waiting for was the discharge of power from the cannon, but….nothing.

He looked back up at the femme, her face gradually transmuting from ferocity to melancholy. Like she's having a second thought. Which is what she ended up choosing.

Arcee retracted her guns and lowered her arms, with her expression degenerating into a small frown.

"_You're lucky this time, Screamer_.", she whispered bitterly to the Seeker.

All of Starscream's tension disappeared at that single sentence. He loosened his servos, closed his optics again, and calmed his lips down with a deep sigh of relief.

The Autobot straightened herself up and said, "Don't think that you will be next time."

The ex-Decepticon, optics open once again, looked up at Arcee and finally said something, with a severely restrained voice.

"_I-I—I….I'll t-try not t-to._"

The phrase had struck her hard. _Wait...__**try**__ not to!?_

She took a few steps back, with the frown still upon her face, and sat down on the pile of rocks behind her. She drooped her head for a while, with deep intakes every nano-klik. Starscream knew that the femme was trying to figure out what to say or do next.

He himself tried to fathom why Arcee seemed so silent. Was it something he said? Did he say too much? Or was the memory of their last encounter with each other that had finally caught up to her? Primus, he never should have said a slagging thing about his extermination of Cliffjumper. Now he's _never_ going to get out of here alive…

Arcee finally lifted her head up to say something.

"I'm sorry I've caused this to happen to you, Starscream."

'_What!? __**SHE**__'S SORRY?!'_

The Seeker's optic's widened vociferously at that thought. _'I extinguished the spark of her partner in cold blood, and SHE'S apologizing to ME?! For an act of hostility exaggerated by a spark of vengeance in her system caused by __**ME**__?!' _Starscream had nearly hastily launched his rocket missiles in downright fury because of this. He should actually _thank_ the pile of scrap holding him down and preventing him from initiating the launch sequence on his arm, triggering another potentially fatal cave-in, once again, caused by _him_.

Arcee noticed the silence Starscream was emitting, so she continued. "If it hadn't been for my lack of caution and lust for revenge, then I would never had let you get crushed under the weight of this pile of _slag_." He observed her emphasis on the last word as she smiled and let a out a virtually silent chortle. It was actually quite endearing. Who knew that an Autobot femme had a blasphemous side to her as well?

At this point, he realized he wasn't leaking from his optics anymore.

The Seeker still couldn't comprehend on what to say. Which is why the femme continued once more. This time, he saw her raise her head and look into his crimson optics, turning her smile into a half-frown.

"I know that you and I have a history of violence and detestation against each other, and it will most likely continue on in the near future…" Arcee was standing up at this point and began to walk over to him. She went on, "…which why I want to be the first to act on our behalf."

Her next action was absolutely shocking to Starscream: She was _moving_ the obstructions binding him from any means of movement.

So after all the backstabbing he had done for Arcee, she was _still _willing to put aside her revulsion and retribution of him and spare his spark? Apparently, repentance _does _play a giant part of being an Autobot, at no cost.

However, some part of Starscream _wished_ that the Autobot would just finish him off right now and put him out of his misery.

The Seeker was still completely silent, apart from the heavy breathing. Due to this, after hauling away half of the rocks burying him, Arcee once again spoke.

"Do not think, however, that this changes anything between us. I still don't think I can ever forgive you for what you did to Cliffjumper."

Correction Repentance _does_ come with a price, according to Arcee.

A few kliks later, Starscream felt much, much lighter. The burden from the rubble had really taken an injurious toll on his chassis. Yet, he still couldn't move the slightest bit.

Five more kliks, and his arms were free. He noticed that Arcee had quickly backed away from him. Her face was skeptical She thought that after she freed the Seeker's arm's, he would reach out, snatch her neck, and break it. Once she saw his still fearful expression, she walked back over and continued shifting the stones.

Finally, the femme had only one rock left to remove: a medium-giant boulder pressing the Seeker down to the ground. Just small enough for Arcee to grab a hold of.

"Okay", the Autobot began as she bent down over Starscream. "This is going to hurt either a little or a lot, Starscream, but it's the only way you're going to get out of here." He just realized how she said him, _just_ him, instead of the _both_ of them, since, unless they compromised, either of them would get out of _here_.

She slipped her servos between his back and the boulder, and started lifting it up with all of her strength. It didn't budge but only half an inch. The Seeker felt the giant slab relentlessly scratch the back of his chassis, causing him to cringed. That's going to leave a big scar.

"Careful", Arcee inordinately told Starscream. "I told you it might hurt."

The femme tried to pull up the rock again, but not much more luck there. She managed to slide it off to the side another inch, again, with the coarse power along his back making him cringe, again.

"I said _be careful_…", she said, being much more brutal and forceful with each command.

Starscream decided after the last line that he's had enough. He just wants to get out of this Primus-forsaken Pit-hole!

As Arcee lifted the rock, he straightened out his arms, dug the claws of his servos into the soil, and ferociously dragged himself out of the rubble. The Autobot was flabbergasted as she watched this, still holding the hefty boulder in her arms. Once Starscream was free from his trap, he kicked the boulder with the stiletto of his heel and pushed himself away from it. He was wheezing hard, his entire body seared with abrasions.

Arcee looked down and realized that she was still grabbing ahold of the rock. She dropped it, letting it hit the ground.

**Thud!**

She turned her head and looked down at the broken and bruised Seeker. Never had she seen the Decepticon in so much agony and terror. Her soft side began to take a hold of her spark.

She slowly walked towards the 'Con and kneeled down right beside him, gently placing a servo on his shoulder pad. She quietly whispered in her calmest voice, "_Starscream_? _Are you…okay_?"

After a few moments, he finally spoke, in a very slow and raspy voice.

"_D…D..D-D-Don't….J-Just leave me b-b-b-be…"_

Arcee felt disrespected at that response. With an airy snort, she angrily, but still lightly, pushed Starscream and walked away with her back turned against him.

"I saved you from rusting to death.", she said quietly and bitterly to Starscream as she kicked a pebble. "The least you should do is to thank me."

The Seeker said nothing. Hey just lay there like a newborn sparkling during it's first recharge. The only difference was Starscream being in tormenting pain. Primus, the landslide took a much crueler toll on him than she thought. She needed to get him to safety.

Just as she pondered that last thought, she heard the wall beside her crack. Followed by another crack. A very tiny hole in the wall, big enough to hear through. She put her servos and audio receptor against the stone barricade. "Is someone there?", she shouted, almost forgetting about the damaged Seeker curled up on the cave floor.

She heard not a voice on the other side of the wall, but a set of coordinated beeps.

['Cee, is that you!?]

Bumblebee must have heard the landslide and rushed to find her.

She was going to have to hold off getting Starscream to safety.

"Yes is it, Bee!", Arcee replied back in a softer voice to avoid harming the Seeker's receptors.

She started to pound her fists against the wall, but then quickly realized that it was entirely pointless. What she was about to request was very asinine, but it was the only option at this point.

"Bee, can you blast a hole through this barricade? It'll take us too long to clear with our bare servos!"

Bumblebee said nothing for a moment. Probably trying to think if it is a good idea or not. Finally, the scout spoke, [This is insane, but it'll have to do. Be prepared, 'Cee!]

Arcee ran over to the other side of the cave where Starscream lay, as far away from the barricade as she could. She looked down at the Seeker, helpless as could be. He needed safety. She wouldn't forgive herself if she had pull him out of the wreckage just to be blown to smithereens.

She heard the familiar sound of Bumblebee transforming his arms into firepower. [Ready?]

The femme didn't know what to do. So she resorted to the last thing she thought she'd ever to do Starscream.

She propped herself against the Decepticon's chassis and held her arms around his head and shoulders.

This brought the attention of Starscream in an instant.

'_W-w-…w..w-hat is s-she d-d-doing?'_, the Seeker thought. She was cradling him in her arms in a protective embrace. It felt…warm. No other word. Just…warm…

"Ready!", he heard her shout. Then he heard the sound of charging firepower.

**Blast!**

**BOOM!**

The rest of the noise came so fast, he even didn't have enough time to process it. It was followed by the sight of a blue flash and a giant cloud of dust and smoke that obscured the view of the fallen barricade.

Arcee let go of Starcream (He sighed in dismay, though the femme didn't take notice.) and scurried over to the wreckage. The smoke finally dissolved to reveal the young fellow Autobot scout in front of her.

[You're okay!], the scout shouted in relief.

There was still a wall of rocks in-between them, though there was now a giant gap big enough for Arcee to fit through but only barely room for Starscream.

[What happened!?], Bumblebee asked. The femme stood on the rocks between the two of them to block the scout's view of the Seeker. It helped that he was now nestled behind a giant cluster of broken pieces of stone thanks to the impact of the scout's blaster power.

"I-I don't know.", Arcee had to come up with some sort of excuse in order to hide Starscream. "I, uh… I remember walking for a while, and uh… I think I hit a loose pillar by mistake a-and that must've made the cave crumbling down."

[Well, whatever caused the cave-in managed to reveal something of great use.] Bumblebee stepped to the side, exposing Arcee to a chamber full of energon crystals.

"Looks like we've found our source.", she said.

[Should I patch in the rest of the team to collect all of this, 'Cee.], her partner inquired. [We really ought to do it before the Decepticons discover this.]

"I'll take care of that, Bee. Why don't you go scout out the rest of the cavern and see if you can find anymore crystals.", the femme requested.

[Got it.] With that settled, he turned around, transformed into his vehicle mode, and drove off back the way he came from.

As soon as he was completely gone from Arcee and Starscream's vision, she turned to him and spoke in a discreet but vague tone.

"You should be thanking me for that as well, 'Con. _Remember that_…" She whispered the last two words in an spiteful manner.

Starscream only groaned loudly in agony. His internal structures were so critically damaged, he couldn't even access his vocal system but only for a few words.

The Autobot scoffed at his response, then began to crawl her way through the medium-sized hole, leaving the Seeker to rust in the dust. He lay there in cold-blooded trepidation, fearing that he would be left to tarnish in the shame of his past wrongdoings.

He heard small cracking noises in the near distance, as if objects were being broken apart. A klik or two later, he gathered all his to raise his head to look above the rock, and, much to his surprise, saw the femme climbing back into the chamber where he was lying. She was holding something in her servos, through his vision was beginning to fade, making it harder to identify the specimen. When she reached the Seeker, she set down the specimen right next to him. It was rather large.

"You found this first, so it is only fair that you should at least have some.", he heard her say.

It was radiating a faint blue glow.

'_Energon?'_

Starscream held an expression of bewilderment at the generous offer of the cynical Autobot. He reached out and grabbed the crystal and held it in his arms. With every bit of willpower left in him, he looked up at the blue femme and mustered up as much courage and strength to say the next few words, along with a sheepish smile.

"T-t-t-t-th-tha-th-th-tha…t-t…th…"

'_Well that was a failure'_, he thought.

And thus, the Seeker's optics went offline.

Arcee quickly bent down over Starscream's immobile body and check his vital systems. He only fell into a deep recharge. She gave a sigh of both relief and remorse.

She crawled in and out of the hole, getting three more chunks of energon for the unconscious Seeker and tucking them up against his fragile chassis. He was still holding the first one that she had given him. She tried to reach down and take it away from him, but he would never let it go, as if it were a sparkling's toy that he/she grew attached to.

'_Interesting'_, she thought to herself.

Arcee decided now was the time to stop putting it off. She patched in her com-link.

::Arcee to base. I am requesting for assistance. We've found the energon source. Repeat: we've found the energon source.::

A moment later, she was responded to by the medic.

::Affirmative! I'll activate the ground bridge and we will arrive shortly!::

With that settled, the Autobot climbed back through the giant crack and left the Seeker to slumber his troubles away.

Her last request was one that she last expected to do for eons to come.

'_Primus, please…don't let anything happen to the 'Con. I don't want to go through all of this for nothing!'_

Autobot way or not, she _hoped_ she had made the right decision.


	5. IV: My Name Forever More

**This is my personal favorite chapter so far, and I think that has mostly to do with the end.**

**The chapter's title: I've decided to change it around a bit here. The chapter's inspiration is acutally the song 'Nemo' by Nightwish. However, I didn't want to name the title that; I didn't want people to be confused to the mix-up with the movie that everyone knows [Finding Nemo]. So I altered the name as a reference to one of the song's lyrics, and a reference to the end. **

**t's a dark song for a [slightly] darker chapter, so let's dive right in!**

* * *

_Lyrics from '**Nemo**'_

_This is me for forever  
One of the lost ones  
The one without a name  
Without an honest heart as compass  
This is me for forever  
One without a name  
These lines the last endeavor  
To find the missing lifeline_

_My flower, withered between  
The pages 2 and 3  
The once and forever bloom gone with my sins  
Walk the dark path  
Sleep with angels  
Call the past for help  
Touch me with your love  
And reveal to me my true name_

_Oh how I wish  
For soothing rain  
All I wish is to dream again  
My loving heart  
Lost in the dark  
For hope I`d give my everything  
Oh how I wish  
For soothing rain  
Oh how I wish to dream again  
Once and for all  
And all for once  
Nemo my name forevermore_

* * *

**Chapter IV**

_My Name Forever More_

_DIIIIIIIIINNNGGG!_

The sudden noise of the loud bell nearly frightened Arcee half to death. She was deep in her thoughts while waiting outside in her undercover motorcycle form. Thankfully, nobody was paying attention to her while she was pulling up into a parking space and shutting off her disguise: a hologram of a driver in a full-body suit. It was designed to help draw no attention, as opposed to traveling around without a hologram, which would cause a _whole_ lot of suspicion.

The blue Autobot had been sent to pick up her fellow human partner, Jack Darby, from his school, and then drop him off at his workplace at what they call a burger joint. From what she saw of that place from the outside- the spilled liquids on the floor and the countless stains all over the cooktops and counters- it made her gastrointestinal system feel out of balance. Whatever her human partner's occupation was in that _scrapheap_, it sure didn't involve cleaning.

Two kliks after the bell rang, a multitude of school students began pouring out of the front doors. Arcee noticed another one of there human counterparts, a younger female, Miko, being one of the first to run out of the building. She ran down the pathway and turned to the left side, opposite of Arcee, and headed down the direction to another one of the team's combatants, and Miko's counterpart, Bulkhead. Another klik later, after the crowd had partially dissolved, she finally saw Jack walking out, along with their third human equivalent, Raphael. They looked as if they were still deep in a conversation. For a while, they

Jack was making his way over to the blue motorcycle. He was holding his helmet, which he kept with him at the school so he didn't misplace it. He put on his helmet and mounted the back of Arcee's motorcycle frame.

"Sorry for the delay, Arcee.", the human began to say. "Raf and I got to chatting, and I lost track of time."

"What was so important to talk about that was more crucial than going to your job?, the blue motorcycle asked, as she started accelerating out onto the road.

"Oh, well… I guess it wasn't _that_ important. We were just talking about our Christmas break, since it's only a few weeks away, and what we're going to do when it comes."

"Another Earth holiday, I presume?", Arcee questioned.

Jack chuckled. "Yes, as a matter of fact. But it's actually one of the more important holidays. Usually, a lot of us humans would travel across the planet to visit their relatives and families, but Raf and I are going to stay here in Jasper with our parens and siblings."

"What about Miko?", Arcee asked.

"We saw her running down the hallway shouting something about one of her favorite bands coming into a town not far from here for a concert next month, and… well, as you can imagine, she just couldn't contain her excitement… I mean, as excited as she already was before. She couldn't stop talking about it for the past few months! Before we met you guys!"

"Bulgarian shriek metal?"

Jack laughed at her inquiry. "No. Actually, this is a different kind of band; they're supposedly a Swedish avant-garde metal. There heading down for some sort of 'Flowers of Evil' tour in the beginning of next month, and now that you"

"Huh…So, two concerts within a deca-cycle? Does she go to these kinds of events often?"

"No." Jack said. "In fact, She's only been to one other concert before the previous one, a few months back."

"Interesting.", she replied. That was a lie. Well, partially anyways. She was beginning to wondered why humans such as Miko were so much as fascinated at material such as that.

Arcee had assumed it was Bulgarian shriek metal when she heard Miko complaining that she was going to miss the band's only concert in their area because of a simple scouting mission gone awry.

Where she came across Starscream.

_Starscream._

That single solitary word made the femme's motor engine reverberate furiously.

It had only been three days since that chaotic occurrence; her, Jack, Miko, and Bulkhead had gone to investigate a source of energy that suddenly spiked on the base's radar. It led to the discovery of Megatron in the process of terminating his regretful Second-in-Command. It ended in a giant whirlpool of pandemonium, in which the entire mine collapsed on top of everyone and trapped them for several joors.

As if that incident wasn't hectic enough, the next day, they had come across Starscream, caught in a web and left behind by _Airachid_- her engine fumed again at that last word-, and tried to persuade Team Prime that he wanted to join them. She still wasn't sure whether it was just an act in a treacherous plan, or if Starscream was actually willing to change his ways.

His past told her otherwise.

Arcee had vouched to watch over him when the Autobots found the location of a very damaging relic: the Immobilizer. During that time, he unintentionally let slip a malicious deed of his: the fact that he was the one responsible for the untimely passing of her fellow partner. It was the one particular moment that almost cost the Seeker his life, and possibly hers.

'_How could any bot be convinced to join a faction of which they had previously killed one of their own'_, Arcee thought to herself. _'It would be too criminal to be even mentioned!'_

When she pondered her thought, the first being that came to mind, unfortunately, was Airachnid.

She had heard of the Decepticon's defection back on the war for Cyberton, for reasons that Arcee still never found out about, and, from the information she had assembled from most recently, Airachnid actually managed to win back the trust of Megatron. Somehow.

'_Airachnid…'_, Arcee thought to herself. _'…That cruel, despicable, heartless, slag-eating, fragging-'_

"Arcee!"

She heard the shout from out of nowhere. It was coming from Jack.

Arcee finally came back to her senses and realized that she had just missed the turn onto the street where Jack's workplace was. _Scrap_. She quickly made the next turn and decided to loop back around to the destination.

"I'm sorry, Jack.", she said. "I-I was just…thinking."

"About what?", he asked.

"I would rather not discuss it…plus, it's not that important, anyways."

"If whatever is bothering you distracted you from something as vital as driving, then I think it _ix_ important."

'_Scrap, he does bring up a valid point.'_, Arcee thought irritably as she made her next turn.

"Look, Jack, even if I wanted to tell you, I can't; it's a very long story, and you have to go to work right now, so I wouldn't have enough time to talk about it."

"So, why not just talk about it later, then?", the human debated.

That's what she was afraid of. Arcee sighed, then finally said, "Alright then, _maybe_ later." Her emphasis was on the word 'maybe'. "But only after we get back to your house. _After_ you work. Promise?"

Jack chuckled a little. She sounded so somber. "Okay, I promise." He was wondering what has been up with Arcee lately ever since the mine incident. It has been driving him crazy.

Finally, they drove into the parking lot of the restaurant. Arcee slowly rode into one of the unoccupied spaces next to the staff entrance. Jack dismounted the motorcycle and made his way over to the back door. He stopped and looked back to see that the Autobot hadn't left. She usually turned on he hologram and drove out of there to make herself look conspicuous. But this time, she was just sitting there with her headlights turned off.

He knew something was wrong. He needed to say something.

"What's wrong, Arcee? You're not leaving. Don't you usually leave to go back to the base?"

She paused for a moment, then replied, "I'm just….thinking. Plus, isn't this your shorter shift?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Then I'll just stay here and wait for you. I needed time to process my thoughts clearly. Hopefully, the team won't call me in for assistance today."

Jack stood there, looking down at her. "Okay, then. See you in a couple hours.", he said, then walked back to the door, opened it, and entered the building, letting the door behind him shut by itself.

It was just Arcee all by herself, now. Good. After everything that has happened in the past couple meta-cycles, this is exactly what she needed: All the available time she could get for solitude.

She sat alone in silence without as much as a single word for what seemed like an eon. She was looking up at the blue, vivid afternoon sky. It was the first time in quite a while that Arcee felt very peaceful. Thousands of vorns of war, destruction, and turmoil has all led up to this one short moment.

Of course, the first thing to cross the femme's mind was Starscream.

She first took note of his suddenly changed behavior. He wasn't much like he was whenever Arcee was around him, whether she was fighting him or being held under his captivity. During those times, he was repulsive. Vicious. Cruel. Spiteful. Smug. Boastful. Dangerous. And loving every minute of it.

But the last time she came across him, he was….different. He was a little more… for lack of a better term… silent. It wasn't the unnerving kind of silent, but more of that kind of 'thinking' type of silent. He also seemed more cautious. Strange. He was usually a plotter, but he never thinks about the consequences afterwards. Now he was constantly alert and paying more attention to his surroundings.

There was one more trait that Arcee saw in the Seeker that she thought she'd never see in him.

Fear.

Starscream, for the first time that Arcee ever saw in him, was actually scared for his life.

That had to be the only explanation for his crying.

Apparently, the Seeker's last encounter with the Autobots gave him seconds thoughts. Maybe now he wants to resign from his post as a Decepticon.

Unless….he already has?

Arcee thought about that: he never _did_ call the Decepticons in for backup. Perhaps he wants nothing to do with them? Did they do something to anger him? Did one of the crew pose a threat to him?

At that last question, she reverted to an earlier flashback.

**_Arcee paced back and forth furiously. While the rest of Team Prime went to explore an abandoned warship to retrieve a dangerous relic, she had volunteered to watch over Starscream in his shackles to make sure he wouldn't try to escape, but now it felt as if she were forcibly stuck with him._**

**_The Seeker had kept quiet with his deceitful optics wandering around, like he was either trying to avoid contact with her, or was thinking of a way out of his binds._**

**_After a while, he finally spoke._**

**"_I'm not really so bad, you know. Megatron… he's the evil one."_**

**_Arcee wasn't about to fall for any of Starscream's scrap-infested, blathering nonsense. "Tell it to someone who cares.", she bluntly told him._**

**"_Like whom, Airachnid?", he retorted. "What I would do to get my servos around her wretched throat!"_**

**_He actually managed to catch her attention when he mention Airachnid. 'That fragger', she thought at that name. But she knew that the Seeker was still trying to deceive her. Still, now she wondered just how much Starscream really abhorred her._**

**"_So we both can agree on one thing?", she told him._**

**"_Oh, you have no idea.", he replied. "She showed up one day, and the next thing you know, she's acting like she runs the fragging place!" His tone was beginning to shifting from annoyance to revulsion. "She whispered lies into Megatron's audio receptors, and maneuvered to rob me of my rightful place as Second-In-Command!"_**

**_Hearing all of Starscream's simple-minded complaints were starting to give Arcee a whole new background on Airachnid. So she was not only a sadist and a venomous predator, but also a conspirator and a back-stabber. She couldn't help but show a little smile._**

And two days later, Arcee still believed the words of a traitor. She wanted to know more about Airachnid's history, but unfortunately, only Starscream would ever reveal the 'Con's true intentions.

And she could only imagine where that seeker remained now…

* * *

Cold. It felt….cold.

His optics opened. It was pitch-black.

Correction. It was cold _and_ dark.

Starscream had no idea how long he had been offline. The last thing he remembered seeing was the sight of blue, stemming from the chassis of a fellow Cybertronian.

Arcee.

Her look was unmistakable. He never forgot the face of anyone. But what was baffling was that his conscience has told otherwise. Telling him of events that he swore had never happened; reminding him of places that he had never been to in his entire lifecycle.

He must have been depleted on energon if it meant that his own mind was playing tricks on him.

When his optics began to enhance, he saw a faint, blue, vibrant glow coming from in front of him. He recognized the radiance of energon crystal when he knew it. But now he was wondering whether or not it was just another hoax being produced by his conscience.

The Seeker slowly reached out with his servo and clasped the gem in front of his optics. Sure enough, it was real.

He brought back his arm, broke off a chunk with his other servo, and began chomping down on the rock-solid material with his dental plates. It is very difficult to gnaw on energon in it's raw form, but Cybertronians back in the earlier days must learn to do so as a means of survival, when there just isn't enough time to process it into it's liquid counterpart.

Starscream didn't even recall how he got a hold of the energon in the first place. Then he suddenly remembered: Arcee had willingly given to him after he got severely injured from a landslide that fell upon him during a cave-in. It was probably only out of pity. Whatever the case, the Seeker was very thankful for the femme.

He also payed attention to the wall in front of him. It was open when he was previously online, but now it was completely blocked. Arcee must've set up a barrier of rocks to shield Starscream from any enemies or invaders. How considerate of her.

But then he wondered _why_ she would help him in the first, after all that he had done to her.

Again, maybe it was out of pity.

He munched on the crystal for a while until it began to soften and squeeze out it's clear, watery substance. He bit down once more with great jaw power, and it leaked more of the substance, which he than began to gulp down. It felt refreshing. The Seeker didn't have any energon for probably an entire metacycle now.

Halfway through his consuming process, he heard a noise.

Noises.

No…_voices_.

And there was one that seemed to raise itself above every one else's.

"_No crystals!?"_, the voice boomed._ "Not a single hint of energon!?"_

Starscream pitifully propped himself up and limped his way over to the bordered wall. He found an immensely microscopic hole that he could peek through. He pressed his servos up against the wall and his right optic against the hole.

The first sight he caught through the peephole was the backside of someone. Some_bot_. He looked bigger than himself. He couldn't quite deduce who it was. Until he spoke again.

"_You're telling me that there is not a single __**scrap**__ of energon in this ENTIRE CAVE!?"_

Oh Primus, no.

_Megatron!_

At that moment, every fiber of Starscream's whole internal systems began to shake in fear. _'No! What is __**he**__ doing here!? This can't be happening!'_

Suddenly he heard the voice of one of the eradicons. "I apologize, Lord Megatron, but there is no trace of the source left in this area."

The Seeker saw his former master slam his fist into the wall adjoining the barrier between him and Starscream, the vibrations shaking hs core even furthur than they already were. He was familiar the Cybertronian's fits of rage whenever he saw it. Some of them ranged from letting out a silent exhale to a gaping hole blasted right through the chest of a low-ranked vehicon.

"How could this have happened!?", Megatron roard. "HOW?!"

Another eradicon walked up to him and interjected. "I'm sorry, my lord, but the mainframe's sensor arrays went offline, and we did the fastest we could on repairing them. You nearly destroyed the mainframe's entire systems when you smashed them in frustation."

He watched Megatron put his servo to his face. Starscream fully expected the giant grey mech to mash the con's head against the wall, but instead, he gave a small sigh of disgrace as he slid his servo down, looked down at his minion, and spoke in his softest voice.

"Gather the rest of troops, disassemble the excavating equipment, and prepare a groundbridge back to the warship."

"Yes, Lord Megatron.", the eradicon replied as he turned around and left.

The leader turned to face the other con, who was still standing there awaiting his master's command.

"Check any remaining surfaces to see if there are any hints of energon crystals thay any of the other troops might've missed.", he ordered."

The troop nodded and ran off.

The next thing Starscream knew, his view was obstructed by a shade of black. Megatron was resting against the barricade between him and Starscream.

He heard another sigh from him. And then he starting quietly speaking to himself. The first statement to come out of him was one that the Seeker couldn't agree more on.

"This is all Airachnid's fault!", the dark lord said. "If only she hadn't lost my Second-In-Command to the slagging Autobots in the first place!"

'_He blames Airachnid for my being held captive under the Autobots?'_, Starscream thought.

"Starscream was the only one that would get the job done.", the big silver mech continued. "He would exterminate anyone in honor of me. He was loyal to me…"

'_Loyal?'_ The Seeker was utterly baffled by that description. Not once had Megatron _ever_ called him that! Did he… d-did he actually mean it?

'_Maybe I could try to come back to the Nemesis and beg for my position back!'_, Starscream thought. He hoped that his former master would really take him back after all the dramatic turn of events that have happened in the past, both distant and recent.

Then suddenly, he heard something come out of Megatron's vocal system. A sort of…cackle.

"Loyal?…hehe…."

It grew more menacing.

"…Hehehehe…"

More loud.

"…Hehaahahahaa…"

It ended in a malicious whirlpool of giant laughter.

"HAAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAAA!"

He didn't like the sound of that. He _never_ did, whether it was directed at him or not.

"To think that I almost fell for that single, inept thought!", he said in a louder voice, which then calmed down in his next sentence.

"How could I even trust that ungrateful, traitorous buffoon! After all the recent actions he's engaged in: questioning my own tactical movements, trying to raise his own undead army…hell, even tried to single-handedly _eliminate_ me and try to take over my position! I wouldn't be surprised if he spilled the beans to the Autobots about _my own tactics and strategies_!"

Starscream knew at this point that his chance for redemption as a humble, unquestioning servant to Megatron has been completely blown.

The Decepticon warlord continued, "And I doubt that I have to worry about him joining the Autobot cause. He's bound to let slip an old secret that would eventually jeopardize his mission!"

The Seeker felt extremely ashamed of that last verdict. Megatron wasn't entirely wrong.

"Well, thankfully, he won't have any recollections to file in his case to join them."

'_W-W-Wait a moment…__**"…won't have any recollections!?"**__'_

Starscream, after vorns of dedication to Lord Megatron and the Decepticons, was beginning to wonder if his master had kept more from him than he really knew.

The next few kliks were nothing but bouts of silence, followed by Megatron pacing around the cave's chamber. Starscream kept still the entire time, trying not to let even the slightest noise slip out that could alert the giant mech.

Finally, the Deceticon leader's comm-link went off, with the familiar voice of the eradicon from earlier speaking over. ::Lord Megatron, Soundwave has collected the rest of the armada and excavation gear, and is now sending a goundbridge to our coordinates. Is there anything else you require, my lord?::

"As a matter of fact…", the mech began as he patched through. "…Tell Soundwave to meet me at my coordinates."

::As you wish, Lord Megatron::

And with that statement, the comm-link went out.

It took a few moments until Starscream saw the familiar flash of green emitting from the opened groundbridge. Another flash of dark purple came out of the center of the portal as the Decepticon's chief officer entered the cave chamber and closed the bridge behind him. Megatron slowly walked up to him in a stiff posture, then spoke.

"What I'm about to request to you, Soundwave…is to be kept between the two of us. _Do not mention this to anyone else_. _Especially Airachnid. __**Do you understand**_?" He whispered the last three words with such menace and delicacy.

The Seeker saw Megatron's most trusted ally give a single, silent nod. Starscream pressed his audio receptor up beside the hole.

The warlord leaned over his subordinate. "You are to travel to Cybertron alone, without any reinforcements. I trust that you can handle this on your own."

Soundwave neither said nor did anything. That always meant 'yes', according to the Megatron.

"Good…", he continued. "I want you to go to the remains of our home planet to these coordinates." Megatron then told Soudwave a set of multiple numbers. Starscream didn't bother to remember the coordinates, since his mind was still half-drained from the cave-in. After the numbers were given, all of which Soundwave recorded into his memory, Megatron continued once more.

"These coordinates will lead you to the ruins of the Hall of Records. Once you reach these coordinates, travel directly north and you should come across a bunker underneath the ruins. Break in and search for a small, black strongbox. Retrieve that box and bring it back to the ship for analysis."

Soundwave answered using a recording of one the eradicon's voices. ::As you wish, my lord::

Then the groundbridge behind the Decepticon spy opened back up. He turned around and took a few steps toward it, until he stopped when Megatron spoke. "One more thing…" The spy didn't turn his head even the slightest, but he stood there waiting for his task.

"Keep the item under heavy surveillance. If Starscream gets his servos on it, there's no telling what he might do with it."

Starscream now had a confirmation that Megatron was _definitely_ hiding something from him. But what?

Soundwave gave another nod, still looking at the groundbridge, and then walked in. Megatron stayed behind, and said one last thing to himself.

"That treacherous Seeker better bring me back something of great use to me if he ever decides to show his face on the Nemesis ever again!"

With that said, he casually walked through the groundbridge, dissolving into thin air along with the portal.

Once he verified that he was alone, Starscream fell on his back with a giant thud.

The first thing to cross his mind was something he already forgot about.

'_Megatron is keeping something hidden from you under the remains of a place that you have no recollection of visiting? My my, this certainly has been an interesting turn of events for you…'_

His conscience from yesterday had begun talking to him.

"Oh, not again…", the fatigued Seeker groaned.

'_Not again?'_, it spoke. _'You mean you don't like my company? I'm the only one who is willing to talk to you, and you're just going to cast me aside like a-"_

"Not now!", Starscream growled. "I need energon and rest! So will you _please_ slag off!?"

His conscience gave a scoff. _'Suit yourself…'_ Then silence.

He reached out to his energon supply, broke off another chunk of crystal, and began gnawing at it. During his mastication process, he brought to mind one single question:

_Is Megatron right?_

_Am I neither a worthy Decepticon _or _Autobot?_

Starscream took this quote into account. I mean, is he really condemned to a life-cycle of solitude? Judging by his past endeavors, he can't bring himself to become a Decepticon if he can't promise to rat out their strategies if they abuse the scrap out of him. But now he can't bring himself to join the Autobots due to the consequences of his past profession that nearly cost him his spark!As energon fluid leaked from the crystal, the Seeker sat up against the wall, with his legs scrunched together and his kneecaps next to his chin, and started drinking it down. At this point, he realized he has officially sank to a whole new level of humiliation. Being reduced down to a pile of slag forced to break apart a single energon crystal with his bare dentures. Like an earth animal!

Once the crystal was run dry, he threw the useless chunk and watched it shatter when it hit the rocks. He had regained a little bit more of energy for his internal systems.

_**I have been a fool. Made mistakes.**_

Starscream looked down and exhaled deeply.

_**But now at this point, I realized what I was truly meant to be…**_

Coolant started to produce from his optics and stream down his face.

…_**I…I…am…nobody.**_

He slammed his fists into the ground.

_**Nobody…My name…forever more…**_


	6. V: This is the Life

**After the ending of the previous chapter, I couldn't help but bring to mind the lyrics of a Dream Theater song known as 'This Is The Life', from their latest album. It's a kind of revelation song that I think works greatly in this case for Starscream.**

_'This is the Life'_ by Dream Theater

_In the heart of your most solemn barren night  
When your souls turn inside out  
Have you questioned all the madness you invite?  
What your life is all about_

_Have you ever wished that you were someone else?_  
_Traded places in your mind_  
_It's only a waste of your time_

_Feed the illusion you dream about_  
_Cast out the monsters inside_  
_Life begins with an empty slate_  
_Fragile left in the hands of fate_  
_Driven my love and crushed by hate_  
_Until the day the gift is gone_  
_And shadows remain_

_Some of us chose to live gracefully_  
_Some can get caught in the maze_  
_And lose their way home_  
_Memories will fade_  
_Time races on_  
_What will the say after you're gone?_  
_This is the life we belong to_  
_Our gift divine_  
_Our gift divine_

* * *

**Chapter V**

_This Is The Life_

_**Creeeeeeaaaak**_

Arcee was startled by the simple opening of a door. Jack's work shift must've just ended, because she saw him walk out the back door of the building with his helmet.

The femme had fallen into a deep recharge not to long after she brought her human counterpart to his occupation at a grimy, low-down restaurant not too far from his school. She had been waiting for him to finish his shift so he could bring his back to his house.

Jack put on his helmet and mounted the top of Arcee's motorcycle chassis. "So, home?", he said.

"Yep.", Arcee answered as she revved he engine.

The two of them pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, heading down toward the direction of Jack's household.

* * *

_**Crack!**_

_**Crack!**_

_**Thud!**_

The pitiful Seeker began to clear the blockade of boulders preventing him from leaving the filth-infested grotto. Since his twist of fate with his former faction, he knew that this was a safe haven, since they no longer saw this place as useful.

He started to gasp heavily after a joor of labor; he was still aching for his wounds.

One more rock, and he would be free.

_**Crack!**_

_**Thud!**_

"T-T-There…T-That should d-d-do it-t…"

Starscream pushed aside the remaining cavern fragments and climb over the now-reduced pile of rubble and into the larger adjoining chamber.

After several kliks of navigating through the rather labyrinthine halls of the dark, lackluster cavern, the Seeker turned around a corner and was met with a white, gleaming light at the end of the tunnel. He slowly walked toward it, taking it lightly with each step due to his vast injuries.

Closer and closer, he came to the light.

He took a step into the sun.

_Freedom._

_Freedom…at last…_

Starscream's crimson red optics strained at the sudden, blinding sight of the sun's luminous, golden rays. It has already been 36 joors since he last basked in the warm heat of the planet's brightest star.

It took him a few nano-kliks for his optics to adjust to the sunlight. The Seeker never thought that he would miss a single thing that was a part of this world. To think that only a stellar cycle, he loathed everything that this sorry planet had to offer. But now, those extraterrestrial gifts were the only things that he request to hold onto for himself.

As if the golden, shining star had possessed magical qualities of regeneration, the pain from Starscream's wounds on his heated chassis began to soothe away instantaneously. He didn't know if this was only a psychosomatic episode from his solitary confinement, or if the sun actually did contain supernatural powers. Either way, it helped the Seeker greatly.

Solitary confinement also meant one more fault: Starscream wanted to taste the air of flight again.

The problem was that, because of his critically inflicted damages, his transformation sequences would take much longer in order to avoid aggravating them again.

But he _needed_ the taste of flight! His internal engine thrusters were _pleading_ for it!

He made a choice: He'd risk the consequences.

One by one, piece by piece, the Seeker gradually forced himself into his conversion procedure, no matter how agonizing it was. But that didn't matter to him now. He decided that he needed to toughen up; his isolation has caused him to become pathetic…well, more pathetic than he was when he was working for the Decepticons.

A few kliks later, and Starscream's transformation sequence was complete. His scars became more painful, but were soon vanished by the sun's remedial spells. Primus, he really _must_ have been driven to madness from isolation! But again, it helped him a lot.

The Seeker mildly enhanced his thrusters to low power so he didn't override his impaired engine. Then to moderate. Then higher. And higher. And higher. Until he reached full power. There was enough open space ahead of him, he could ensure a proper takeoff. He kept his thrusters on and blasted his accelerator to maximum speed. Faster and faster he zipped through the dense forest, blowing nearly half the leaves off of the trees in his trail. When he had enough momentum, he pulled himself off of the ground and flew straight above the tree line, just barely missing the thick, bushy shrubbery on the treetops.

It was nice to feel the cool winds once again. As a Seeker, Starscream constantly desired flight, whether or not he was presented the opportunity. A meta-cycle and a half may seem like a short period of time to most Cybertronians, but to Seekers like him, it always feels like an eon, _especially_ after being trapped in an enclosed space.

'_This flight is fantastic.'_, Starscream said to himself. Only a moment of flying can make all the difference. He didn't even take notice of his wounds, which don't to be taking a heavy toll on his airlift.

As if fate had decided to retort on his statement, one of his engine thrusters blew out, causing him to lose altitude.

Correction: His wounds apparently _did_ take a toll!

'_This is not good!'_, Starscream worried. He frantically tried to adjust his aerial physique to keep himself in the air until he could find safe ground. Judging by his growing loss of height, he had approximately 30 nano-kliks until he smashed into the planet's surface.

He scanned the surroundings below him. Unfortunately, the forest that he flew over was far behind him now, and there was nothing but flat, open prairies and grasslands, which were bad if he wanted to separate himself from any humans or airborne Decepticon flyers.

_20 nano-kliks._ He had to think fast!

In the near distance, next to a highway, Starscream caught sight of what looked like some flawlessly constructed, even rows of gravel and grass parallel to a tall, massive, flat-sided building of some sort. No, it was _much_ too thin to be a building; it was even skinnier than he was! But that wasn't so much the important part as what was behind it: a giant, lush, deep-looking valley filled with trees lay right behind the area. The problem was that he didn't know if it was safe enough to glide into the forest without anybody spotting the suspiciously low-hanging aircraft and decide to go and investigate it.

_10 nano-kliks._

He made his choice: it looked abandoned, and no cars were driving on the highway, so he decided to take a leap of faith. Metaphorically.

When he flew in, he almost hit the giant flat building, but just barely. He heaved himself over the dirt rows, dipped back right down, and slid down the descending valley in front of him. He was tearing up the once nice, grassy surface of the woodland floor just to slam himself against a giant stone that he did _not_ see coming.

_**CRAAASSSSSHHHHH!**_

Starscream gathered his remaining strength to slowly transform back into his original form, as he did not like staying on the ground if it meant he couldn't fly. Almost immediately after, he slipped into an unconscious recharge.

* * *

Arcee spotted the familiar house that she would visit nearly every day. It was basically her secondary home when she had nowhere else to turn. She pulled into the driveway, waited for the garage door to open, and drove inside.

Jack, who was riding atop of Arcee, dismounted her once she stopped, took off his helmet, and placed it on the workbench right next to them. He turned around and looked at the blue Autobot, who was still in her motorcycle form. Then he walked over to the side door and entered to let his mother know of his arrival.

Arcee turned off her headlights and sat quietly in the garage. She enjoyed these brief moments before she would com-link the Autobots to bridge her back to base. Things were actually going much smoother ever since Jack's mother, June Darby, had learned the secret that giant, alien, 'robotic' (as the humans would call them) life forms that were waging war on their planet. The downside was that there was another being who would have to shield their stern secrets from the world. However, the upside was that, because of her occupation in the pharmaceutical field, she was able to assist Ratchet, Team Prime's chief medical officer, in their respective fields. Ratchet would teach June the sciences of Cybertronian life forms. In return, she would impart knowledge of human medicinal properties to him, which, to the rest of the team's great surprise, very much fascinated the cantankerous medic.

A few minutes later, Jack walked back out to the garage and gave it straight to his partner.

"So…you wanna tell me now, Arcee?"

The blue Autobot, completely unaware of the human's return, heard the sentence, along with the door slamming back shut, nearly jump-started her engine out of shock.

Earlier, Arcee was in a sour mood, and Jack asked if something was bothering her. However, she wouldn't tell him what until the human finished his job for the day. He patiently waited to ask that question till they reached his house, in hopes that it would give him a higher probability of her saying yes.

The motorcycle paused for a second. Maybe she _still_ didn't want to confide just yet. "I was actually hoping you would've forgotten about that.", she replied in a sullen voice.

"To be honest, it was the only thing on my mind while working."

No response. It really must be hard to talk about if she won't even budge.

He decided he'd need to force her to confide. It was the only way to help break her physical issues; one day, it would lead to a fatal incident.

"Look, Arcee…", Jack began. "…I know that this must be a very touchy subject for you, but I think you would feel a lot better if you'd just open up to someone. I don't think it's healthy for you to keep any sensitive secrets like this. It might cause harm in the future if you keep this up!"

Nothing.

"I realize it's hard to talk about anything personal, but I think if you can find someone you can really trust, it'll make things easier for you. And I have to know, Arcee…Do you trust me?

Apparently, he hit an emotive cord, because Arcee remained silent for almost an entire minute.

She gave a long sigh, then finally answered.

"Alright."

The blue femme transformed into her original Cybertronian form and kneeled down in front of Jack, her head nearly grazing the rather low-hanging ceiling.

"I suggest you sit down, mister." She dourly requested. "This might get a little lengthy."

Jack grabbed a wooden chair next to the workbench, set it down in front of the Autobot, and sat straight down on it.

She chuckled. "First of all, Jack, let me say that I admire your potent spirit. Not even the boldest of mechs could get the most fragile of femmes to confess their own shortcomings."

Jack couldn't help but give a whole-hearted smile to her. "Am I really _that_ convincing?"

As Arcee continued, she plopped straight down on the cement floor, aft first, and brought her knees to her torso. "Well, to be frank, most mechs are very direct and even more- for a lack of a better word- aggressive. But at least you do show some sympathetic criteria."

"I think you should keep that statement in mind. The smaller and more delicate the comrade, the better ." Jack softly giggled at his feeble attempt at humor

Arcee laughed with him as well. That kind of jest on Cybertron would only be met with laughs of sheer pity "Duly noted.", she responded

The human teen adjusted his seating position to stay more upright. His face gave the direct kind of look that said, '_Tell me now before my head explodes of anticipation'_.

The Autobot femme stretched her legs out on the floor, pushing her pedes lightly on the wall, with her legs a foot away from Jack.

"Alright.", he said with intrusive eyes. "Spill it."

* * *

The first sight that Starscream's fiery, crimson red optics saw after his regained his consciousness of was the sight of a dim, giant, yellow solar star breaming on the edge of the undulating horizon. Only one word came to the Seeker's mind at this view: _Magnificent!_

He slowly brought his torso straight up and shook his head, trying to regain his composure. He had just found the sun halfway through it's daily sunset, so he must've been knocked out for about 3 or 4 joors. The Seeker turned his head and looked behind him. There was a long, smoothly sloped hill going up marked with a long, recently tattered scratch down the slope: the painfully obvious aftermath of his untimely crash.

His curiosity got the better of him, so he decided to scale the foot of the soil-infested hill and take a look on the other side. He reached the top and peaked his head above the summit.

When he reached the top, he found the familiar view of the evenly organized rows of pebbles and grass and the vertical flat surface.

With one slight modification.

It was occupied.

The lot was filled with tons of human families and about a few dozen Earth-based vehicles. Half of the humans- most of them in their early-maturing stellar cycles- were out on the lot playing Earth games that Starscream wasn't accustomed to. Some of them were throwing around oddly-shaped orbs to one another; others took turns running of around the lot while one of them would count to a specific number, then run of and try to find the rest. The other humans- most of whom were the age equivalent of the Seeker himself- were conversing with each other, while the rest were either watching or joining the youth.

The Seeker looked up and tried to find a sign. Surely this place should have a name. Sure enough, he caught sight of one on a small building on the other side of the flat surface. It read:

**Spiegel Drive-In**

There was another sigh below that one that said_ 'Now Playing: S-'_. There was obviously more writing, but he couldn't see the rest since the flat screen was blocking it.

Suddenly, everybody, including the youth that were playing in the grass, quickly paced over to their families and gathered into there specified vehicles. Something was going on; the humans all focused their attention on the giant screen, as if something were to appear on it.

Much to Starscream's perfectly timed proclamation, a flash of white sparked on the screen. Then a black shade. A insignia of some sort that appeared, followed by a slowly increasing. The insignia read: **THX**. The noise grew louder and louder, raising its pitch higher and higher.

'_What the scrap is going on!?'_, Starscream thought. _'What kind of gobbledygook is this!?'_

The noise stopped and the screen went black.

The Seeker then heard the sound of…of…drums. They sounded very similar to the drums that Cybertronians used back on their home planet in war marches and funeral processions. It was met with the accompaniment of trumpets and other various instruments that came together to form a fanfare. Two more insignias came up with the musical auxiliary.

Then, once again, silence.

Starscream's optics went wide with anticipation. Surely this wasn't all that this occurrence had to offer!

A caption, printed in faint blue letters, faded in on the screen:

_A long time ago in a galaxy far, far way…_

They faded away.

Then he waited. And waited. And waited…

…Until a loud burst of music blasted from the screen, along with the reveal of a giant title:

**STAR WARS**

Starscream frantically covered his audio receptors at the loud music. He slowly uncovered them after a nano-klik. The noise wasn't as loud as he made it out to be. '_It was just an overreaction."_, he thought to himself.

He watched the title as it zoomed out into the distance. It was followed up by another title that read _'Episode IV: A New _Hope', and more text. He began to read it.

Apparently, whatever the screen was showing, it was an introduction to a fictional story. A parable of two conflicting factions engaged in a decades-old war for peace. Somehow, Starscream saw a bit of irony with the Autobot-Decepticon War currently going on.

As the Seeker watched the text scroll up and up, he couldn't help but bring one simple question in mind: _'What is the point of this?'_

This wasn't informative; This wasn't teaching him anything; This was merely a form of utterly mindless and demeaning entertainment. Back on Cybertron, they had films as well, but most of which were documentaries of major cities and prominent landmarks, and biopics of famed and infamous figures of Cybertronian history. Rarely has there been one on his planet that catered to the minds looking for humdrum amusement.

But, then again….he found himself _gorged_ by even simply reading the transcript rolling up the screen. It doesn't demonstrate the antiquity of a real character, milestone, or place. But, now that he thought about it…maybe it doesn't _have_ to.

He wanted to learn more about the Earth inhabitants…this will have to be the spot to start.

* * *

Jack was given the entire scoop about Team Prime's encounter with Starscream, his appeal to join the Autobot cause, his revelation as the killer of Cliffjumper, and Arcee's attempt to slay the murderer right where he stood. Every little detail his counterpart was divulging gave him a look of astonishment.

The human fidgeted around in his seat after she finished. "Wow…A-A-Arcee…I-I'm so sorry that this was the way you had to find out…" He couldn't think of another worse way to find out than at the sight of the killer himself.

"I was going to find out eventually.", she said, trying to diffuse the tension.

"B-b-but to find out directly from his murderer!?", he stuttered. "I mean, That's gotta be traumatizing!"

The femme stared off to the side. "I guess it was at first. But maybe the day of silence I had today made me unwind a little….plus, there was one particular moment during my encounter."

Jack straightened up in a bit in his chair. "Really?…And what moment was that?"

His counterpart looked back at him. "While Bumblebee was carrying me away, I saw Starscream limping in the distance, trying to get as far away from us as he could. As he was escaping, he stopped where he stood, turned his head…and gave me a silent look of disgrace. Like….like he was ashamed of himself…"

Jack paused at the sudden turn of emotions. He looked a bit confused.

"Wait.", he intervened. "He purposefully tried to strike you down, yet…you're saying he actually feels _sorry_ that he did what he did?"

"I'm not sure.", Arcee said. "But that's what his last expression told me."

His counterpart stared at him as if she were waiting for a response. Jack wasn't sure what to think about this. He was the more the kind of friend that is a listener, not really the kind to give advice on situations like this. He shifted his chair a little trying to come up with what to say.

"Well, Arcee…I uh…I'm not sure what to tell you here…I mean, if I had to offer some, what Optimus might say, 'wisdom and counsel', then I would probably observe Starscream's interactions and expressions should you meet him in the near future."

"Yeah, well…this is where I said the story would get a little lengthy…" She paused and tilted her head down a little. "…There's more to the story."

The human's eyes widened in surprise. "More?…You mean, you've met him again _already_?"

Arcee nodded.

"Yesterday afternoon, when Bumblebee and I were called to inspect that sudden energon surge. You were there, with Raf and Miko and Bulkhead, watching whatever you guys call that trash." He could tell that she was _not _a fan of monster truck rallies.

"Yeah, I remember…" It took him a minute to process that thought. "…that energon surge was caused by him?"

She nodded again.

"W-w-well, what happened?", he inquired.

"Bumblebee and I were exploring the cave, and we came across a divided trail, so we decided to split to cover more ground. I kept on walking down my path until I came across the Seeker gathering as many energon crystals as he could. And…and…"

"…And…", Jack filled in. "…Then he attacked you?"

Arcee felt absolutely shameful about her confrontation with Starscream. She couldn't bring herself to admit her impulsive conflict with the Decepticon to her counterpart. It was hard, but she knew confiding would indeed help her. Condition triumphs over pride.

"…Well, sort of….you see, right before I encountered him, I had a…a vision…of Starscream executing Cliff….and my wrathful instincts took over me. As soon as I saw him…I lost my temper a-and lunged after him in cold blood." She paused.

"…So…", Jack began to say. "…You feel ashamed because you tried to murder your partner's murderer?"

"Autobots don't do that, Jack", Arcee sternly retorted. "They never snuff another being's spark because of their vengeful memories. And the worst part was, after my previous encounter with Starscream, I made a vow to Optimus Prime that I would never let my vengeance grab ahold of me, and he promised to help stop me should that kind of moment ever come."

"I think Optimus Prime would understand that the first time isn't the best of times.", Jack added.

Arcee half-smiled at Jack's riposte. "Maybe…well, anyways, when I tackled him to the ground, I accidently knocked down a pillar holding the chamber together, and the entire place collapsed around us.

"I woke up with a couple minor dents and scratches, and then I spotted Starscream crushed under a giant boulder. He was completely helpless, as was I, trapped under a confined space with the last being in the universe that I wanted to be around."

"I thought Airachnid would be the last person you'd want to see.", Jack interjected.

Arcee froze and looked down at her counterpart. "…Okay, _second_-to-last being.", she changed to her statement with a little smile on her face.

"When I saw him, I felt guilty: I attacked him without thinking, and I led us both to confinement. I spoke to him for a bit. I talked about our differences, apologized for my irrational outbreak, and set it straight that I don't, and or may never, forgive him for the death of my partner. And then…", she sighed. "…I helped to move the boulder off of him and set him free."

"Did he attack or harm you in any way or what?", Jack asked.

"He…he…he did _nothing_."

"Nothing?"

The femme nodded. "He just lay there, his entire body covered with wounds, both external and interior. We both sat in silence for a while. Then we heard a noise, and Bumblebee came in, freed me, and we patched in the Team to excavate the mine."

"Freed _you_? _Just_ you?"

Arcee hated to admit her secrets of hiding a Decepticon from harm out of sheer guilt. However, she needed to swallow her pride.

"Yes. I hid Starscream behind the giant rock to…to…protect him…"

Jack shifted his weight. "So you decided to help out an opposing enemy after everything he had done to you? Arcee, I-I must say, you are the better bot for it!"

Arcee looked off to the side again. "….Well, there _is_ one other reason why I saved him. You see, when the cave was collapsing…he saw the giant piece of rock falling above us, and he pushed me away from him before it fell on top of him."

Jack nearly fell back on his chair. He up righted himself and exclaimed, "W-w-w-wait. H-he _saved_ you!?"

Arcee looked straight back down at him. "I know. I couldn't believe myself, either!"

Jack pulled his seat closer to the Autobot. "You think Starscream's really changed his ways for the better?"

"I'm not sure.", Arcee replied. :I'd like to think so….but…but I just can't forgive him for the past. It's….it seems like only little bit of a grudge, but it's just too much for me to handle!"

"Well…I don't know what to say, Arcee.", Jack responded. "…I think…maybe…should you ever run across him again, I think you should correspond to how he acts around you."

Arcee's optics widened a little. "Funny. Optimus told me the exact same thing before I went on the scouting mission with Bee." She tilted her head up and looked up. "I never _did_ understand what he was trying to say after the accident."

She paused for a moment. Then something struck her mind.

The femme looked back down at her counterpart. "I'm going back to base. I have an idea." She held out her servo and Jack took it with his own hand. "Thank you very much for letting me confide to you, Jack.", she said with a smile

The human smiled as well. "Your very welcome, Arcee. I'm glad I could be of assistance."

Arcee activated her com-link. ::Ratchet, can you send a groundbridge to Jack's house? I'm coming back to base.::

She heard the familiar, elusive voice of the team's medic. ::Alright, Arcee. I'm sending out the bridge coordinates to the garage.::

She turned the link back off and watched Jack open the door to his house, enter, and close. A moment later, the green portal appeared, and the Autobot walked through back home.

She had a crazy idea- _crazy_ indeed- but it just might work…

* * *

**Originally, there was more I wanted to put in this chapter, but I decided to save that for the next one so I can write more in the next! Reviews are always appreciated!**

**P.S. To all who caught the Cowboy Bebop easter egg, you all get a free [imaginary] cookie.**** :)**


	7. VI: Hidden in Silver

**I wanted to get this one in as fast as I could, so I typed about 2/3rds of it today. If it feels a bit rushed, that's my explanation for why.**

**The chapter title is a playoff of the Trent Reznor soundtrack piece 'Hidden In Snow', which, again, comes from the TGWTDT soundtrack (You're going to find that this soundtrack is easily inspirable!). Since their is no snow where Starscream currently is, I decided to change the title around. The play on the word _Silver_, replacing _Snow_, refers to Starscream himself. It's kind of a symbolic meaning where we don't know what may really on the Seeker's mind.**

**You should also take note that Starscream's encounter with _Star Wars_ was inspired by the Transformers IDW comic, _For All Mankind_ (which, for some odd reason, a lot of people detested. I don't see why; I liked it). The sequence where Thundercracker is stranded in a deserted city for months and resorts to endlessly watching TV greatly inspired the sequence in my story as well!**

**'Hidden In Snow'. I _HIGHLY_ recommend listening to this while reading this section! ( watch?v=WQk1U-VOM4)**

* * *

**Chapter VI**

_Hidden in Silver_

The portal closed up behind Arcee once she had entered the base. Ratchet turned around from the computer unit and gave her a sort of both welcome _and_ unwelcome, a common expression of his.

"I take it you got Jack home safely?", the medic enquired.

Arcee looked at him and returned a blunt reply, "Yes. We got to chatting for a while, and I lost track of time." She lied: she was perfectly aware of time, but just didn't give a scrap about it.

The femme then realized, '_What if he asks what we were talking? What do I say?'_ She didn't have to worry any further when the medic gave a silent snort of acknowledgement and went back to his workstation.

Arcee looked around the base and saw that it was vacant. It was just her and Ratchet.

"Have Bulkhead and Bumblebee reported in yet?", she asked.

"Bumblebee left before you beat him here. He will be here any minute. Bulkhead just left from Miko's house. He said he wanted to leave earlier, but Miko kept pestering on and on about him taking her to a place a bit off ways from here- San Francisco- for some sort of event-"

"The _'Flowers of Evil'_ tour?", Arcee quickly interjected.

Ratchet's mouth dropped in shock of the femme's psychic prediction. He stood there open-mouthed for a moment, then spoke. "…Actually, I believe it was called the _'Flowers of Mischief'_, but…"

"Jack told me that Miko couldn't stop talking about it at their school." She remember here conversation with Jack earlier this afternoon.

"…Right.", the medic responded.

"What about Optimus?" Arcee almost forgot about the team's leader.

"He is in his quarters. He's been back there for quite some time. When walked past him, was just sitting on his berth and…thinking."

Maybe he was contemplating the facts of Starscream that have come up from the past couple days. This might be good, because Arcee needed to speak with him about that damned Seeker.

"Do you think he would mind if I bugged him?", she asked. "I need to discuss a rather important and private issue with him."

Ratchet kept his optics and servos at work whilst answering gently, "You know what he's like, Arcee. He could be holding a rock five times the size of him above his head and he would _still_ hold a durable conversation in the process."

"Noted.", she responded, and walked toward the Prime's quarters.

The femme navigated through the extensive hall, taking a left at the T-bone intersection. The right side corridor led to a giant training facility filled with exercise paraphernalia, an armory with extra shielding and ammunitions for the team, an energon storage room, a laboratory for energon processing and Ratchet's superfluous medical research, an infirmary section, and an spare chamber, used for additional storage. To the right corridor were berth rooms for every member of Team Prime.

Arcee slowly traveled down the long hall, passing everyone's rooms on the way: Bulkhead, left; Bumblebee, right; her own, left; Ratchet, left; and finally, Optimus, right. She reached the end of the hallway to find his door wide open. He was still sitting on his berth, optics closed, deep in thought, with slow intakes and exhales of breath. This was the first time, after seeing him in vorns of war and combat, that Arcee saw him to be so peaceful.

His tranquility, apparently, gave him extrasensory powers, because he felt the femme's presence in his room.

"Is there something you need, Arcee?"

She confidently strode to the Prime's side and sat right down next to him with an assured look.

"Optimus…do you remember what you told me yesterday about my further interactions with Starscream should I ever come across him again?"

The Prime looked down at his smaller comrade with a serious but heartening expression. "Yes. And…?", he waited for a response.

Arcee smiled up at him. "…And I think I've got a suggestion."

* * *

He checked his internal clock. 26 kliks he's been here, staring wide-eyed at the moving projections in front of him.

And yet….these projections weren't going anywhere: they felt like they weren't leading to any critical point, or educating him about the human history, or…or…_anything_ essential!

Is this what these creatures do in all or most of their time? Generating pointless collections of photographs in motion set to rhythmic music and ambience? How pitiful….However, he realized that he was being hypocritical, because he found himself….._fascinated_…by these moving pictures. Pointless, yes, but…fascinating as well.

Surely the humans must do something greater than these rather meaningless diversions. Perhaps some more productive workings; military enforcement; political headship; remedial study; historical archivism; Pit, even bartending work at an Engex hostelry! However, because of Starscream's external and internal gashes from yesterday's incident, a few of which have miraculously healed overtime, he couldn't roam the planet and explore further details among the inhabitants. For now, the Seeker was condemned to assessing the lower-class sciences.

No…no. Condemned was to harsh a word. He was more or less…situated here against his wishes. Even with the valueless entertainment be presented to him.

Just then, Starscream idea formed in his mind: _'Maybe I'm being much to analytical and eager to absorb data from this. Maybe this isn't supposed to be educational. Just…more or less an…an experience!_

He drew himself higher from the hill and closer to the screen with a more open mind. He felt as if he were going to enjoy every moment of it.

* * *

The accustomed flash of green shone on Arcee as she drove straight through the groundbridge to the last set of coordinates before Jack's house: the mines where she had last ran into Starscream. Her back felt very laden with the rather heavy-sized pack of cargo strapped to her backside.

She didn't even stop to investigate the outside of the cave while the bridge up behind her. Instead, she rocketed down the nearly half-mile long corridor, making the known turn to the right at the split section, and towards the once energon-filled chamber to the Seeker's temporary base, hoping that he might still be there.

::You sure this is a good idea, Arcee?::, she heard the cantankerous medic's voice com-link her while she was driving.

The femme com-linked him back, ::Optimus gave it the green light, so yes, Ratchet, I'm quite positive. You know you can't argue with Prime!::

He paused over the link. ::…Affirmative…:: And with that, the medic cut off the connection.

Arcee continued to ride on and on until she found the entrance to the room of her eventful encounter. She slowed down and made the turn into the chamber, which was now entirely stripped of energon crystals. The barrier she had built for Starscream had fallen down, as expected. The crystal rations that she had given to him were already a third of the way depleted, but, much to her surprise, there was no sign of the Seeker.

At least until she looked down. The femme recognized the Con's rather feminine-like heel-shaped pedeprints in the ground, leaving a trail that, unfortunately for Arcee, led all the way back outside.

She com-linked the Prime to alert him of the Seeker's absence.

::Optimus. Starscream has left the cave, but just recently. I'm going to leave and see if I can find any traces of where he might have gone. He couldn't have went far.::

The leader's unmistakable deep, booming voice took over her receptors. ::Understood, Arcee. Return to base when you are finished.::

And with the link severed. The Autobot fast-tracked into a 180 and zipped her way back to the cave entrance. The Seeker's pedeprints led to outside, a few more taking outdoors, and then suddenly disappeared. He must have transformed to his F-16 jet mode and took flight…which meant he _really_ hasn't gone far due to his immense injuries.

Arcee caught sight of a road just a klik away. Maybe she could find Starscream more easily this way. She pushed her accelerators to the max, zoomed through the semi-dense forest, and bowed sharply onto the street.

As the search went on, the femme thought about all the possible scenarios that could happen should she actually come across the Seeker. Some of them ranged from him cowering down in fear and beg for mercy (the most unlikely), to him knocking her unconscious, dragging her down to his lair, and mutilating her body into multiple fragments (the most likely).

But, alas, she was overreacting. Considering her last encounter with Starscream, things might turn for the best. And she made herself a pact to try and be more optimistic.

As if fate had decided to frag around with Arcee, she had remembered her dream- no, vision- no, _nightmare_- about Cliffjumper's demise at the hands of the wicked Decepticon.

'_Calm yourself, 'Cee'_, she told herself. _'It was only a dream. It might not have even happened that way...maybe it was even __**worse**__!_

And there was her pessimism taking over her self-esteem again.

Time flew by for quite a while before she drove by what looked like a giant wall to the left of the road, pulling of to the side and staring in its direction for a short bit. It looked like a drive-in. Jack had told her all about one aspect of the human culture's diversities: cinematography. Humans would take cameras, much like ones used on Cybertron, and record other humans performing fabrications on servo-built production sets. The filmed shots would then undergo through different process such as editing, mixing, soundtrack scoring, and computer-made visuals. Once complete, the finished project would become reproduced and sent all over the globe and presented at places called theaters, or sometimes to drive-ins like this one, to which other humans would pay to go to a session. These creations were known as motion pictures, and there were literally _billions_ of them!

They never had anything like that on Cybertron. Of course, on her home planet, they had live newsfeeds that would broadcast on vast televisions across the planet, and the closest thing they had to 'motion pictures' were video documentaries of the history of Iacon, some of which were discovered to be false or made-up.

Earth had documentaries, as well; most of the pictures made here, however, were made more for entertainment and experience purposes. Arcee had seen a few of them herself. While some of them made her shake her head in discontent…she couldn't help but stand in awe of the very perception of the art. Humans truly were ascetically intelligent beings.

Some of the films (a shortened term for the custom) made her think otherwise.

The femme took a look at the drive-in's adjoining sign and saw that it was showing Star Wars: a film she had heard of before that first opened 34 stellar-cycles, or earth years, depending what organism you are. It was one of the most if not _the_ most popular motion picture. Because of this, it was often re-released every year or so. Jack, Raf, and Miko had shown it to her of TV once. Personally, it became her favorite. Even if the storyline bears a suspiciously uncanny similarity to the current Cybertronian war going on.

Unfortunately, Arcee didn't have time for sitting around. She still need to find the Seeker.

At that moment, she needed to look no further. The femme saw two rather eerie crimson red lights spouting from the forest that lay behind the drive-in, like something out of a horror film, a genre that was quite widespread among this generation. The lights reminded her of Starscream.

Reminded her….that it_ was_ Starscream!

Instinct hit Arcee like a sucker punch, because the next thing she knew, she tore off down the road and made her way to the next left turn at another street. She wasn't about to let a cluster of innocent bystanders be blasted to smithereens.

She found a side street half a mile ahead and twisted herself in its direction. About a quarter of a mile down that road, she flung herself off-road and plummeted deep down toward the space behind the Seeker so that she could surprise him with a sneak attack.

When Arcee reached the bottom of the ravine, she skidded to a halt, sleekly transforming herself into her regular bipedal form. The cargo that rested atop her chassis was now tied to herself backside, right above the waist. It was much lighter now that she shifted into a larger scale. She looked to her left and up the semi-steep hill. The sight of sharp, silver stilettos, the same shape as the ones from the pedeprints, caught the Autobot femme's optics. Her optics slowly stared up to glance at his femme-like heels, up to his legs, his thighs, his aft, all the way up to his sleek wings. Arcee took it back: his pedes weren't femme-like….his entire lower body was.

She quietly changed her servos into cannons and prepared to alert Starscream of her presence. However, she froze. A realization formed in her mind.

'_Why is he not attacking?'_

If the Seeker hasn't initiated violence yet, then chances are…he wasn't going to.

Then…..why was he here?

Arcee lowered her guns and shifted them back into servos and decided to abandon her earlier strategy. She devised a new one: observation.

The Autobot femme sidestep her way right, keeping her optics on the unpredictable Seeker, and traveled up the hill in that direction. She went up and up, turning a little more to the right with each step she took, until she bumped into a tree that was perfect for scaling and surveillance. Her optics never left Starscream, but had to momentarily break the chain in order to climb up. It was a ginormous tree with thick branches; it looked like the only tree big enough to hold her up without snapping apart.

At last, she reached the top, and now could focus her ever-so-vigilant optics back on the Seeker.

The first thing that she noticed was his optics: they seemed different. Whenever she saw them, even last time, his crimson optics always looked threatening and malicious, or sometimes pitiable and terrified. But this time…

…This time, they looked alluring.

Alluring. Like….like he was truly _enjoying_ what was being given to him. And, for the first time ever…he wasn't, or at least didn't look, blood-hungry or ready to tear something asunder.

When Arcee encountered Starscream in the cave, he seemed different, yes. But he was still as pathetic as he usually was. Here, he actually _was_ different. He wasn't trying to be evil or faking despair to gain sympathy, but rather just soaking in the wonder of his surroundings.

The Autobot looked at the giant screen. It was halfway through the film, as it was showing the sequences on the Death Star. Even in one sitting, Arcee managed to absorb every detail of something that, on Cybertron, would be considered meaningless.

She looked back at Starscream, whose optics were still glued in the direction of the projection. It looked like he was never going to leave until the end of the production credits. Every film had them, and most humans at this time would exit the theater during the credits, since the credits usually took up 5 to 10 kliks of the film. According to the Seeker's expressions, which showed much awe and naivety, he was going to stay until the screen went black.

Arcee decided that Starscream was no longer a threat. At least for the moment.

She patched in her com-link. ::Ratchet. Have a groundbridge from the previous coordinates ready for when I reached the vicinity.::

There was a short pause on the medic's end of the link before he responded. ::Coordinates are set, Arcee. I will open it once you are near.::

**::End Link::**

The femme slowly scaled back down the tree and went back to the previous location behind the Seeker. She almost forgot why she came in the first place.

She stopped at the bottom of the valley and looked back up at Starscream, wondering whether or not she should disturb him of his cinematic experience. She unstrapped the package on her waist and held it while she thought on it.

'_No.'_, she finally answered. _'I leave the Seeker to his preoccupation.'_

Arcee bent down and left the package down at the bottom foot of the hill. Surely he would have to come back down in order to avoid human contact.

Once the Autobot got back on the highway, she slowed down at where she first swerved onto the road from the cave, and veered back onto that path. The proximity sensors on the base's mainframe must have detected her, because the portal opened up at the end of the trail where she first came from.

Arcee zipped through and then decelerated when she was riding on the bridge. She reached the end of the bridge to find herself back at Omega One, safe and sound, where she caught sight of the Prime at the corridor entrance.

She transformed back into bipedal form and raised her thumb digit to her leader.

"Delivery Successful."

Optimus looked down at her with a stern but welcoming look. "And what was the outcome?", he asked.

Arcee looked up at him. "I never got one."

The Prime raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"It's a long story.", the femme responded. "I'll tell you about it in a minute. I need to hit the washracks: my chassis is a little muddy from the cave dust."

She made her way down the hall and made a left.

Arcee hope she had made the right choice. Eventually, she'd know.

* * *

Apparently, the projection must be at its end; another form of texts began appearing in the form of human names, along with what must be human occupations. At this time, all the cars parked in the dirt began to drive of in an orderly method.

Starscream released his servos from the soil. There now lay giant, evenly-marked pits where his claws were. Was he really so into what he was watching that he dug his talons hard into the ground?

But…that was the truth.

In reality: He was sucked into every klik of this projection!

This truly was one of Starscream's greatest experiences of his life. Not even in his entire life-cycle with the Decepticons had he ever had so much pleasure from one simple moment!

And yet, like most good things, it eventually had to come to an end.

The Seeker sighed at that disheartening thought, and crawled straight in reverse back down to the foot of the valley. However, when he reached the bottom, his right stiletto hit something hard.

He turned his head and looked down to find a small metal crate, at least compared to his average-sized Cybertronian body.

'_This wasn't here before!'_, Starscream thought.

He shifted his body around to face the crate, with a curious look, indeed, and plopped his aft down onto the hill. He touched the crate with his servos, trying to find the lock to open it. Finally, he felt the lock, and pried it open. The Seeker was shocked to find what he had just uncovered…

_Energon._

And not just energon _crystals_…but energon _cubes_! There must be a dozen of them in here!

Unfortunately, there was no note or markings or _nothing_.

He picked up the crate and moved it all around, trying to find the slightest indicator of who might have sent this. Surely, it didn't fall out of the fragging sky!

…Unless…

No. It was sent. Starscream found an insignia marking on the front of the chest. It carried the Autobot symbol. What Autobot would ever be willing to-

…He knew…

…Only one living being in the galaxy would ever be so generous to do this deed…


	8. VII: In Motion

**This was all actually planned to be one single chapter. but as I kept writing, I wrote more than I should, but ended up wanting to keep it. The second half is more of a filler, but _also_ as a setup for a new story, which you could probably already guess.**

**Title's inspiration: _In Motion _by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross ( watch?v=Yczul_609Gg)**

* * *

**Chapter VII**

_In Motion_

Recharging during the night was much better than the session two meta-cycles ago. That was a plus.

Arcee swiftly opened her optics, chock-full of energy, and hauled herself right off of her berth. She checked her internal clock. **8:49am**. It was earlier than the last few times that she had woken up. She prudently stretched out her legs, entered the code to open her berthroom door, and walked out.

She was surprised to see that no one had yet awaken, or at least that was her theory, because the entire main section of the base was empty. That was expected for the Prime, who was standing at the mainframe, optics cemented on the monitor in front of him, servos at his sides, like he was waiting for something to appear on the screen.

The femme walked up to her leader and looked at the screen; it was showing a map of the entire western face of the planet's hemisphere. Her optics stared at the spot in the middle of a marked region that the humans named Nevada. Right smack dab in the middle was Jasper, the location of Team Prime's outpost, Omega One.

"Something on your mind, Optimus?", Arcee asked.

The Prime slightly turned his head and averted his optics down on her. "I figured that Starscream would have responded to us by now.", he said, and turned back to the monitor.

"I'm sure that he is still thinking things over", she contradicted. "I mean, that _was_ a pretty big gesture on our part. Not to mention my encounter with him last time. I bet he just needed some time to think over that."

That was one of two possible options Arcee had in mind in retort to the Seeker's nonattendance. The other one was that the Seeker was plotting a ruse to capture and hold an Autobot captive. What he would do with the captive, she didn't know.

"That is a understandable assumption, Arcee.", Optimus said with his wide, empathetic optics on her. He seldom smiled around the team, but most of his expressions were substitutes for his greater sentiments.

"How come the rest of the team aren't online yet?', the femme asked, looking around the vacant space of the den.

"I'm given to certain to understand that it is the weekend, and everybody has decided to recharge a little longer.", he said while keeping his conversant, unyielding voice.

Arcee wondered why she was learning about this just now, when the team had already been her for about a dozen deca-cycles. Her mind came to recognition after a nano-klik: She spent most of her weekend lunar-cycles in deep slumber, and would online in the middle of a full cycle. She was usually the last of the crew to wake up.

They both stood there in complete silence while both sets of optics were gawking at the display. Then the femme decided to be the first to break it.

"I hope I'm making the right decision, Optimus."

The Prime shifted his body at Arcee and looked down at the smaller comrade.

"Your plan is a very well-suited one, Arcee, and I trust in your strength of judgment."

That statement made her feel a bit more confident, but still unsure about her suggestion. "But…what if something goes wrong and…and we end up losing another soldier!?"

At that moment, the giant leader put his servos down on the femme's shoulder pads.

"You're being too doubtful of yourself, Arcee. A true soldier never lets his or her defenses down, no matter how hopeless or frenzied the situation."

She knew that he was right. Even in the darkest of times, Optimus Prime would always find the most positive and wisest words to his fellow Autobots. Everyday, there was at least one more reminder for Arcee on why the Matrix of Leadership had chosen him.

"I know you've said that every being, no matter how wrongful their past is, should always have a chance for redemption, but…b-but...t-this being has brutally slaughtered thousands- maybe even _millions_- of our own kind! H-H-He deceives others by feigning w-weakness and p-pity just to mutilate his prey w-when they least expect it!…H-H-H-He even _MURDERED_ one of our o-only t-t-teammates a-and told me t-t-that he d-did so b-b-b-because his v-victim _b-begged _f-f-for it!"

With each word Arcee spoke, her stuttering became recurrent faster and faster in sheer anger. She was on the verge of breaking down and crying in front of Optimus. She felt almost so close to a scolding from her superior.

But instead, the giant leader slipped his servos onto the femme's forearms an kneeled down to her height.

"Let me ask you something, Arcee…", Optimus began. "Did you not vouch for Starscream when he said that he wanted to join the Autobot cause?"

She looked up at the Prime. She wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"…I did…"

He continued, "…Did you not spare Starscream's life when he nearly pushed you towards the brink of extermination?"

She felt invaded by this debriefing, but everything he was asking her was true.

"…I did…"

"…And was it not you that saved him in his most desperate time of need, despite your dark past involving him?"

Scrap, he raised a valid point there.

"…Yes…I did.", she answered, though she still didn't know what the point was with these inquiries.

"Then let me ask you, Arcee. You came up with last night's strategy…why are you feeling so unsure about it now?"

She honestly didn't have a rational answer for that. Only the fact that, despite yesterday's positive outcome, the femme was usually more on the pessimistic side of results.

It took her a while before she spoke.

"I-I don't know…maybe after my chance meeting with Starscream the day before, I thought perhaps he might have changed for the better. Today, however, I feel like he's been playing the shame game on me to lower my guard and strike when he had the chance. Not to mention, and I never thought until now…what if he _does_ respond to our offering? What then?"

"Then we will watch and see if he really _has_ changed for the better.", Optimus responded in his most credulous voice. "We now know that Starscream ha a quarrel with the Decepticons, so it is very unlikely that he will return to them anytime soon. And who knows?…Maybe he wasn't lying about joining us after all."

"But what about his assassination of Cliffjumper? I mean, I could- _**might**_- be able to forgive him for the damage of countless cities, because a) that was vorns ago, and b) it wasn't all _just_ because of him." Megatron's face popped up in her mind at that last sentence. "But this happened not even a full stellar-cycle ago!"

Optimus Prime sighed at her retributive statement. "While I understand that the demise of our fallen comrade has taken a very substantial toll on each and every one of us, I do still believe that any spark, even somebody as wicked as Megatron, deserve a chance to erase their wrongdoings. It is only the matter of how much you're willing to trust that spark enough to put your life on the line for them."

Arcee raised an eyebrow ridge in concern. "Really? Even sacrificing yourself for someone who may or may not stab you in the back?"

He took his servos off of Arcee and place one on his waist. "That was merely an overstatement to substantiate my credence. What I mean is that I consider anyone to be subjected to redemption."

"Do you think you can vouch for that credence, Optimus?"

"As a matter of fact, I can…"

The answer caught Arcee out of the blue. Her optics widened in expectancy.

"…However, that is a story for another time."

Arcee was actually quite eager to hear another one of Optimus' wise tales, especially one that might raise her optimistic contemplations. Instead, she gave her leader a heartfelt grin.

"I must say, Optimus: I'm really glad you're here."

The Prime gave another one of his smiles, which seem now more frequent than ever.

"As am I, Arcee."

He leaned in and offered the femme a hug, which she took. They held it for a while. Optimus Prime's embrace always kept Arcee's spark warm, soothed, and pleasant, even in the coldest of times. Unfortunately, their sentimental gesture was cut short.

"Good morning, lovebirds."

The rather unfriendly greeting came from the familiar voice of the team medic. He grown accustomed to the humans' jargon in the past few deca-cycles and decided that now was the time to exploit it.

The other two Autobots broke their hold and turned to face the medic. The larger mech stood up from his kneel and casually greeted the other mech back.

"Morning, Ratchet."

Arcee somehow detected a little embarrassment in the Prime's voice. She chuckled a little. Ratchet gave her a very stern look. She ignored it. The grouchy medic wasn't very keen on intimate gestures, like most mechs were.

"I take it there is still no response from the Seeker?", Ratchet queried in complete carelessness.

Optimus turned back to the mainframe and checked. "Not yet."

The white and orange mech marched his way over to the Prime. "I still think this is a bad idea, Optimus, with all due respect."

Arcee placed a servo on her hip and spoke with a leaden voice, "Direct the apology to me, Ratchet. This was all my idea."

The medic's mouth opened and eyes widened at her confession. He paused of shock for a short nano-klik, then quaffed on air and spoke, gesturing down his servos, "Do you realize how dangerous such an act can be to a Decepticon!?"

Optimus stepped over to Arcee and put a servo back down on her shoulder. "I trust in Arcee's noble faith of judgment. If Starscream is to be brought out the moral side of him, we are to act upon him with care and compassion."

"Pfft.", Ratchet scoffed. "That is, _IF_…he has a moral side…"

The medic walked past the Prime over to the mainframe without so much as a glance. Sure, he would love nothing more than to have at least another Decepticon completely change his ways and join the Autobot cause. The problem was that Starscream was possibly the second most distrustful Cybertronian in the universe, the second being Megatron himself. So in this case, he was much less enthusiastic. At least, as much more as he usually was.

"Please, Ratchet…", the larger mech started as he put his servo on one of the medic's shoulder pads. "…Try to be understanding of this. If this act of sympathy _does_ work out as planned, we will have one more soldier to fight against our foes. Not to mention, one _less_ soldier- a _vital_ soldier- for the Decepticons."

Ratchet shut his optics and gave a deep sigh. "It's hard to debate against you and your decisions, Optimus Prime." He placed his own servos on the larger mech's. "Just don't expect me to be very keen on the outcome of things."

"Understood.", The Prime said, taking his servos off and walking away.

As Arcee was watching this, she was not surprised one bit at each little reaction. Ratchet was a tough mech to persuade on verdicts such as this, but under the command of Optimus Prime, the medic's boundaries could be pushed one step further.

Not long after Ratchet entered the main hall, Bumblebee, followed right behind by Bulkhead, drowsily strode in from their berthrooms, the both of them rubbing their heads from fatigue.

Optimus leaned towards the femme and whispered, "Do not fear, Arcee. Starscream might be thinking things over."

Arcee didn't know whether to take that as a good statement or a bad one. She wasn't about to become cynical as usual, so she settle for good thoughts. She nodded at the Prime and smiled. He gave a smile back in return. Primus, these kindly gestures were becoming more common of him.

She turned her head and decided to have a bit of gun with the late-risers.

"Good evening, guys.", she said mischievously.

Both of the mechs jolted their heads up in surprise.

"_WE'VE SLEPT IN!?"_, they yelled simultaneously, although Bumblebee beeped it out.

Arcee laughed awfully hard at their unexpected reactions, a feat she seldom did. The combined aftermath resulted in Ratchet throwing one of his utensils against the wall, shattering it into two whole fragments. He flung up his servos in utter frustration.

"Arcee…", he began to yell. "…I _needed_ that!"

After she calmed down a bit from her hysterical episode, she said, "Hehe, I apologize for that."

_Well, sort of…_

The femme continued, "…Anyways, since the kids are probably off from school, do you think we should bring them over here?"

[Well, Raf can't come right now because he is spending part of the day with his family…], Bumblebee said. [But I can bring him this evening.]

Arcee turned to Bulkhead. "How about Miko?"

The giant Wrecker put a servo on his forehead and closed his optics. "Ugh…"

"Something the matter, Bulk?", she questioned.

He opened them again. "…Miko has been bugging me all of last night about taking her to a concert in the next deca-cycle. I'm afraid she'll bring it up again today…"

Ratchet suddenly intervened in the conversation. "Despite what might come during then, might I advise that you just go?"

Arcee and Bulkhead both raised an optic brow at the medic's suggestion. He had never asked for such a peculiar request.

"…Why?", the giant green mech inquired.

"You've appeared to be quite stressful from our latest battles with the Decepticon. Maybe some time away from all the war would do you well."

That seemed like an asinine excuse for a leave of absence. There had to be more.

"…Plus…", the medic continued. "It would give us a break from Miko's so-called shenanigans!"

'_**There's**__ the true leading reason.'_, Arcee thought.

Bulkhead paused at the choice of absenteeism. He then sighed and said, "…Ooohh, alllriiight."

When Ratchet turned to go back to his workstation, Arcee swore she saw the grouchy medic give off a little smirk. The medic was _certainly _going to relish Miko's short lack of presence.

"Well, I'm going to go back to Jack's house.", she stated. "Ratchet, send me a bridge."

The medic, obviously still keep his now-showing smirk, punched in the coordinates on the groundbridge panel and pushed the lever up, presenting the green portal in the hallway that would've otherwise led to nowhere.

The femme shifted into motorcycle form and cruised into the groundbridge.

* * *

Apparently, Jack's mother, June, had been called into work for an unexpected emergency shift, so she was actually quite grateful when Arcee offered to take her son to the Autobot base. Right after she took her car and rode off, the other two drove away to Omega One.

When Arcee and Jack arrived, not more than about a klik or two afterwards, Bulkhead drove into the outpost with Miko at hand. The moment he braked and came to a complete stop, the human girl speedily pushed the Wrecker's door open and waved her arms around in total excitement. Bulkhead must've told her the great news.

"Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou _THAAAANK YOU, BULKHEAD!"_

Straight after her Autobot guardian change into his bipedal form, she threw her arms around his enormous, stumpy legs and gave him a giant bear hug. The Wrecker bent down and patted the tiny adolescent on her back with of his servo digits.

"Well, hehe…Actually, Miko, I'm not the one you should be showing gratitude towards." He motioned to the white-orange mech. "Had Ratchet not allowed me some time off, I wouldn't have changed my mind."

As soon as he mentioned Ratchet's name, the girl sprinted over to the medic and also gave him a bear hug, followed by a barrage of 'thanks you's' from her. The medic sighed in slight contempt, but then lightened up, smiled down weakly at Miko, and return the same gesture Bulkhead did. Arcee felt a bit lightened up at the human's show of appreciativeness. After a few kliks of the mech's relatively kindly appreciation, he picked up the human with the servo he was patting her with, placed her on the second-floor balcony, and crouched t level his head with the girl.

"Miko.", Ratchet started with his most demanding voice. "I must ask as a great measure of protocol: _Do_ you have your parents' permission to go on this trip?"

Miko jumped to the rail between the two of them with abundant enthusiasm. "Yes! Yes I do!", she began with such haste. "I asked them the minute the tour date was announced, and I begged them for the last, oh I don't know…five or six months! Overtime, I saved up all of my allowance to buy the tickets, and I told them that I could get a ride their with a highly responsible guardian who has been driving me back and forth to school and our little 'sci-fi' club! It took some time to persuade them, but I _finally_ got them to agree to let me go. All that was left was to persuade Bulky himself, and now thanks to you, I'm free to go! _Thank you!_"

She was too eager to give Ratchet another hug that she banged her stomach on the guardrail trying to reach his head. Arcee chuckled at her mistake.

"Now now, Miko…" He put his servos up in a sort of timeout signal. "…That's enough gratitude to express for today."

The girl put her hands on her hips. "Maybe so, Ratchet. But don't think I will forget about your grateful act anytime soon."

The medic unfavorably scoffed at her statement. However, she retorted back by walking away from him very slowly, eyes still focused on him, and showed him her most mischievous grin.

She whispered in her most sinister and playful voice, "You better watch yourself…._bot_"

Arcee had to admit: it was absolutely hilarious watching a tiny living organism outdo a bright mind and spark such as Ratchet

As Miko strolled down to the television area where Jack was, the medic scoffed again and faced the mainframe screen. Bulkhead walked over to the lounge area as well and gave the girl's shoulder a light tap. He began chatting with her, most likely laying down some ground rules about the upcoming trip.

While that was being settled, Arcee walked over to the reluctant medic.

"I must say, Ratchet, I admire your somewhat growing attachment to the humans. I mean, to trust her and Bulkhead away for a whole few meta-cycles?"

The mech slightly shifted his head to indicate his attention. "With Starscream most likely split from the Decepticons, we might be able to spare the absence of a single soldier…._and_ a bothersome human."

Arcee realized then that there still was no response from the Seeker yet. Perhaps soon.

She asked, "Do you think I might have some time of in the near future?"

The medic looked straight at the femme, then turned his head back.

"Don't count on it."

Arcee ignored his riposte, but couldn't help but feel underappreciated. That was insane. She felt like she needed time off the most. Given her miserable past.

* * *

**Don't forget reviews! They are_ greatly_ appreciated!**


	9. VIII: Revealed in the Flux

**Forgive me if the end of this chapter feels rushed, but this was the fastest I've ever completed a chapter this long, and I wanted to post it as fast as I could. And trust me...you'll see why!**

**[C.T.I.] Chapter Title's Inspiration: Yet another piece from the TGWTDT soundtrack (seriously, buy the dang album, it's _well _worth the money!). The song is known as 'Revealed in the Thaw', which goes in perfect contrast with the earlier chapter, 'Hidden in Silver' (aka, Hidden in Snow).**

**Enjoy!**

_**'Revealed in the Thaw' by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross ( watch?v=KCPJom7OrHU&list=SP40A60C22C34B80DA)**_

* * *

**Chapter VIII**

_Revealed in the Flux_

Time flew by…

…It flew by fast…

…And yet, _still_ no word from the Seeker.

Arcee had been waiting all fragging day to hear from him. He had crossed her mind all day. 18 joors had passed. '_Surely, he must have done something by now!'_, she thought.

To pass the time, Arcee and Jack went with Raf, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Miko outside to a concealed ravine in the nearby canyons for a race: specifically, the one that led to where the Autobots encounter Starscream trying to raise the fallen warrior, Skyquake, using a shard of dark energon. Unluckily, for the femme, it made her trying to forget about the Seeker even harder. They even whizzed past the section where Starscream's broken arm used to lay, until it was sucked into the Shadowzone along with Skyquake.

They held 3 races, all of which Jack and Arcee dominated. Raf and Bumblebee came each time to a close second place, leaving Bulkhead and Miko in the dust in a pathetic third place.

The races took up about 2 joors of time, so they went back to base, took a long break, and had another race inside there…only this time with remote-controlled cars. The humans competed while their guardians spectated. Thankfully, for Raf, he was an expert, and managed to sweep away the competition. In the end, Bulkhead accidentally crushed Miko's car with his oversized pede. She flew into a short temper and plopped down on the couch in exhaustion afterwards. Not long after, the humans went straight to video games. The Wrecker scraped off the RC car remains on the sole of his pede and went down the corridor to the washracks.

Bumblebee walked over to Arcee, who was hanging by the unoccupied workstation. He leaned up against the groundbridge control panel and stared at her for a moment.

[Something on your mind, 'Cee?], he asked with wide, curious optics.

The femme turned her head to him. "I'm just….thinking…about my encounter with Starscream a few days ago."

[You mean when we found him tied up in Airachnid's web?]

She clenched her fist at the mention of the female sadist's name. "Yes, that one."

The young scout propped himself up from the panel. [Well, what about it?]

"Bumblebee…", she started. "…..Did you believe Starscream when he asked to join us?"

The mech paused, obviously trying to select an answer.

[If you had to ask me…..I think maybe Megatron pushed Starscream's boundaries too far. So…Yes, I think he's the real deal.]

Arcee gave him a sort of half-hearted smile. "So I'm not the only one."

[What about the others?], Bee asked.

"It's a 2 to 3 in favor of refusal. Bulkhead was very skeptical about Screamer's offer, so I doubt he'd warm up to him anytime soon. Ratchet detests the entire idea of a high-ranking Decepticon joining Team Prime."

[And Optimus?]

The Prime would always agree to a ridiculous opportunity like this, but 90 to 95 percent of the time, the crazy plans end up working out in the end.

"…I'm sorry, make that 3 to 2."

Bumblebee's face brightened up at Arcee, indicating a smile. She chuckled.

"I guess more people agree with me than I thought."

[Maybe so.], the scout specified.

"_Ahem…"_

The unexpected voice behind the two Autobots startled them. Ratchet was standing behind them, apparently wanting to get to the mainframe. The other two stared at him, until Bumblebee gently pulled Arcee out of the medic's way. He sighed at the femme and stiffly walked over to the computer.

The younger mech leaned in to the femme's audio receptors. [Don't worry, Arcee. Ratchet's just as grumpy as he always is. He'll eventually warm up.]

She slipped her arms around Bumblebee's waist and embraced him in gratitude. "Thank you, Bee, for trying to cheer me up."

He returned the hug back. [You're welcome, 'Cee.], he reassured her with his heartening beeps, and then broke apart from her. [I need to go wash up. Racing really builds up the grime in your undercarriage, you know?]

"Right.", Arcee said.

Bumblebee turned around and left to go to the washracks. Arcee really needed a wash-down as well. However, her hopes were still exceptionally high about the Seeker dispatching a message to base willing to betray the slag out of Megatron. It may not come to be.

Like fate decided to intervene in her bidding, the communications array beeped on arrival.

Arcee would've nearly tore through the lobby and shove Ratchet straight out of the way to the mainframe had she not been standing yards away. Instead, she hastily turned her head and caught sight of the computer screen, which showed that it was picking up a signal not far from Jasper. She expected Starscream's face to pop up on the radar…

Instead, it was Optimus Prime's signal.

"Optimus is requesting a groundbridge back to base.", the medic announced as he punched the coordinates on the bridge's console.

"Where did he go?", Arcee asked.

"Before you and the others made it back from your antics, Optimus requested that he checked the rest of the wrecked ship that he, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead investigated the day of your chance meeting with both Starscream and Airachnid."

"…Right…", she solemnly replied.

Ratchet stopped and perceived her reaction. "…You were expecting Starscream, weren't you?"

The femme turned back and began to walk away without so much as an acknowledgement.

The mech continued, "You're hoping he would mysteriously change his evil way now, weren't you?"

Arcee gave off a sigh, and then turned back. "…Maybe. He seemed so promising when he surrendered his dignity to deceive his faction. "

Ratchet put his servo on the panel and grasped the lever. "I wouldn't trust him too much…." He pushed the lever up and the portal opened up behind him. "….You know exactly what he's like."

Maybe she does; Maybe she doesn't. Perhaps there's something behind his evil crimson optics.

Moments later, the Prime himself appeared before the medic and femme in his vehicular form. He had carried his additional freight truck behind him.

"Did you find anything of good use to us, Optimus?", Ratchet questioned.

"As a matter of fact…", Prime said as he transformed into bipedal form. "…I did."

He shifted the additional luggage 180 degrees around and pried open the metal doors. Inside lay what looked like a giant tube filled with an eerie, green glow emitting from inside of it. Optimus reached his servos in the truck and pulled it straight out with all of hi might. The other two Autobots stepped in a little closer to see what was actually inside the glowing tube.

It was a Cybertronian being. Kept conserved in a thick fluid to preserve it's lifecycle.

"_By the Allspark!"_

Ratchet gasped in absolute astonishment, a feat rarely achieved by such a cantankerous mech.

"Optimus….W-w-who do think t-this might be?", he inquired. The medic was unfamiliar with the organism's color scheme: a flat, grey shade everywhere.

Arcee leaned up against the computer grid as she watched the Prime put his servos on top of the giant tube. "This isn't any regular, sparked being, Ratchet, but rather…a clone."

Ratchet put his servos on the tube as well. "Do you have a confirmation on that notion?"

"There are four others that look exactly alike on the ship, each one preserved in its own conduit and stored in a safeguarded chamber on the ship. The conduits were all attached to a machine that contains the codes used for cybernetic splicing."

"Optimus…", Ratchet said and briefly stopped to look down at the functional being in the green conduit. "…Do you realized what this means? We could be able to clone our own armada and give our team a much better fighting chance!"

"That may be the case." Optimus stated. "However, this kind of technology is very advanced, and could take us deca-cycles- possibly even _stellar_-cycles to decipher!"

"I thought you studied cybernetic splicing at the Hall of Records back on Cybertron before you became Prime?"

"I have read about the profession and I am quite familiar with its statistics and enigmas…but I have not practiced the vocation itself, so trying to accomplish a feat such as this may take us quite a while."

The medic took his servos off the specimen and sighed in dissatisfaction.

"With that said…",Optimus began. "…I would still like to bring in the rest of the containers, along with the splicing machinery hooked up to them, and transfer them back to Omega One."

"B-But…where will they go?", Ratchet brusquely enquired.

"We will simply lock it up in one of the containment chambers by the training facility and keep them out of harm's way. Should they fall into the hands of the Decepticons, our doom would surely be inevitable."

"Well, what are we waiting for, Optimus?", Ratchet said with a surprisingly upbeat voice. "Let's haul aft and bring these scrappers in!"

Arcee pushed herself off of the wall and finally spoke. "Perhaps I can be of assistance here-"

"Eeyup-bep-bep", the medic interjected. "These conduits are extremely heavy. Plus, Optimus and I will be just fine carrying them on our own."

The femme shrugged, as if to say 'whatever', and walked away to join the humans in their audiovisual endeavors. She leaned in and looked at the TV. Currently, not to her surprise, they were playing a racing game. They immediately stopped playing when they looked over their shoulders and saw the two mechs moving the giant conduit to the corridor.

"What's going on over their, Arcee?", Jack asked.

The femme looked at the mechs and then back at the humans. "I believe we've just made a breakthrough discovery."

* * *

After they got out of the washracks, both Bulkhead and Bumblebee helped to bring in the rest of the containers into one of the saferooms of the left wing. Afterwards, Optimus Prime brought in the complex equipment and machinery from the ship that hooked up to the tubes. Overall, it took about half a joor to finish hauling.

Once all that scrap was completed, The three guardians took their respective humans and left the base to return them home. Jack and Arcee arrived at his house during the sunset, which was a record for the femme. They drove past June's car in the driveway and into the garage, and she braked while her counterpart dismounted and took off his helmet.

He walked over to the door leading to his house and looked at Arcee, still in motorcycle form. "Thank you for the great day, Arcee.", he said.

"Anytime.", Arcee said in return, and watched him close the door behind him.

She stayed there for a while and heard June's familiar voice welcoming Jack back home. When the femme first saw Jack's mother, she found her to be quite harsh and even more frustrating; but once she was exposed to the truth of the Autobots and their all-out warfare, Arcee actually began to grow more accepting of her. June even reminded Arcee of herself: overprotective, cautious, and very much capable of defending herself, excluding her unpredicted encounter with M.E.C.H. and Airachnid.

Suddenly, Ratchet patched in through the femme's com-link. ::Arcee, you might want to come back to base right now. I highly advise it.::

Strange. The medic never patched through to her unless it was an emergency.

::Send the bridge.::, she replied.

**:End Link:**

Almost instantaneously, the groundbridge opened up, and Arcee braked into a 180 and drove.

When she got through, Optimus and Ratchet were both standing in front of the mainframe, looking straight at her. She transformed and looked back at them with questioning optics.

"What's the problem?", she asked.

"Not a problem, Arcee…", Optimus Prime spoke. "…But an answer."

The two mechs stepped back to reveal what was on the screen.

A signal…

…From Starscream.

'_Thank Primus, I thought I saved him for nothing.'_, she thought.

The signal seemed to be coming in a location between the borders of two states the humans call Idaho and Montana. Exactly where she and Bumblebee found the mine and the Seeker himself.

"He finally responded.", Ratchet said with great dullness, as if to say 'I don't give a frag.'

"What's the message?", Arcee asked.

"Just one simple request.", Optimus interpolated. "….That you come alone."

Right after the prime said that, the medic shifted his servos into blades and retorted, "Not unless _I_ have something to say about that-"

"Save it, Ratchet.", Arcee said calmly. "I can handle myself. I was on the brink of death and I still managed to beat the living scrap out of him."

The medic huffed, reverted back to his servos, and rolled his optics. "If you insist…"

He reluctantly punched the coordinates and activated the lever.

'_She must be out of her fragging mind'_, he thought to himself.

* * *

Arcee rode expeditiously through the cave until she reached the end where she and Starscream were trapped together.

Unfortunately, that was not where the Seeker was.

Although, much to Arcee's surprise, the cubes were still there. And yet, it looked like not a single one of them were even the slightest bit empty. She figured at least half of the rations would've been gone by now.

Either he did not require it yet, or he just simply refused to take the tiniest drop of it.

Arcee turned back around and drove furiously throughout every little nook and cranny of the great cavern. Nevertheless, the Seeker wasn't in _any_ section of it.

She came back out of the cave and sighed. Obviously the message was _just_ sent, so he _definitely_ couldn't have gone far.

The femme looked up and, to her great disbelief, caught sight of a silhouette on top of the great, big rock formation, not too distant, in front of her optics. It looked off-balance from the rest of the mountain. Instead, it looked like a sort of tower…no, a statue- no…some sort of winged formation. Wait…

That was Starscream!

Arcee pushed her accelerators to the max and dashed across the forest floor, tearing a line of dirt in its lush, green grass. There was a road straight ahead of her. Luckily, no vehicles were passing by, as she slewed her wheels on the hard concrete and raced up the mountain path.

When she was near the top, she noticed an alcove nestled between two different peaks; she drove down and transformed herself with blasters at servo.

She looked up at the shadow of the Seeker and saw his crimson red optics piercing down at her. He flew into jet mode and glided slowly down the apex and circled the mountain at low speed. Near the bottom, he returned back to bipedal mode and hit the ground heels first.

He straightened himself up, and Arcee raised her guns, prepared for the worst. Yet…

…Nothing.

He just stood there, like a statue, with his face full of…..sorrow.

"I'm not going to harm you, Arcee."

The first sentence hit the femme like a truck.

Immediately she reverted her guns back to servos.

"First of all…", he sighed, still full of sorrow. "…Thank you."

Arcee stood there, frozen like a streetlight on the coldest Cybertronian meta-cycle.

"Thank you…", he said again. "…For sparing my spark…._Twice_. For the cycle you almost murdered me, and the time you recued me from the rubble. Down there." He pointed a digit to the cave Arcee just went through. "I wanted to thank you the day you saved me the second time, but my voice grew extremely weak from the fall damage I took."

There was a voice inside Arcee's head that told her he was a slagging liar, but…she did actually believe him.

"Had it not been for your actions in the past mega-cycle, I would not be standing where I am right now. I would have expected it from any other Autobot, but not from one I admitted to killing a partner of."

Arcee clenched a fist at the mentioning of Cliffjumper. Starscream must've noticed this, because he instantly took a step backwards away from the femme.

"I know it has been a rough few days since you found out about one of my deepest, darkest secrets, and I'm certainly not one for the Autobot way. However, I must say I am truly impressed that you managed to hold no grudges in both of your acts of generosity towards me."

She elevated an optic brow. He stood there paused, obviously noticing her look of confusion.

"…You don't remember? Just yesterday, you gave me a crate filled with cubes chock-full of processed energon."

Arcee opened her mouth and was just about say _'How did you know it was me?'_ However, he raised a servo and stopped her from speaking.

"I knew it was you all along.", he stated as he put his servo back down. "After all, it was your idea to save me from my almost certain doom in the cavern. And it _was_ you who vouched for my candidacy as an Autobot. Yes…I did hear you that day, I assure you."

The last statement was a response from the face of surprise Arcee had made during his verification.

"However…", Starscream started. "…It is sad to say that, despite your great generosity and forgiveness, I no longer have intentions of joining your fellow crew members among the Autobot ranks."

Arcee's face scrunched up in detestation. That was the exact _wrong_ thing to say. The Seeker saw her expression and raised his servo again.

"_Nonetheless…_", he emphasized. "…I also have no intentions of crawling back to Megatron and begging for my position back. After all the wrath and destruction he has struck upon me…."

At this point, Starscream's voice drifted off and he averted his head away from the femme, his face contorted in both pure fear and sheer hatred. Arcee took this time to observe his expressions. The fear and hate stuck with him for about a few nano-kliks, and then he closed his optics and sighed in grief. After a few moments to himself, the Seeker looked straight back at her.

"Since I do not plan to join either faction anytime soon, I have decided from now on, I am my own leader. My own servant. My own _company_."

His voiced cracked at the last word. Apparently, solitude was going to come at a great cost to Starscream, no matter how much he held his glossa from admitting it. Arcee wanted to interject, but knew that the Seeker would just stop her from uttering a single word. So she settled for just listening in.

Starscream began to pace around while at times glancing peacefully at her. "I only called upon you to carry out my message among the rest of the Autobots: I promise- I _swear_ from the _bottom_ of my spark…that I will do no harm to you, your comrades, or even any human organisms that inhabit this very planet. I only request that you spare my spark and make no plan to contact me. Any invitation to come to your base or to join your cause, even during my most desperate time of need, will be instantly met with rejection. And I humbly ask that you leave me to my isolation."

Arcee was dumbfounded by every word the Seeker spoke. Where will he go? What will he do? How will he find energon?"

Like Starscream read her very thoughts solely by watching her expressions, he spoke once again.

"I plan to go wherever my wings take me. I plan to observe the actions of this earth's inhabitants. Since last night, I have decided to revert to my earlier days as a full-fledged scientist, studying every last bit of material and information. And again…I promise that no harm will fall upon them."

Arcee waited for him to finish, but it looked like he already had. Still speechless from announcing his deliberate conversion, the femme just gave a simple nod and began to walk away when the Seeker spoke once more.

"There is also one more reason why I called you here…"

She stopped right in her tracks and looked back at him.

"…Your act of kindness to a wretched Decepticon like me….can never be repaid. Not even all the thanks I given you, plus the thanks still running through my mind, will be enough to suffice. So…"

Arcee then _just_ noticed that Starscream was holding something in his left servo: a sort of blue object emitting a familiar blue glow. He raised it up to show a long, giant, slender energon shard. Part of an energon crystal that she had given to him.

"…I simply ask that you accept this token. As a symbol of my everlasting gratitude." He softly threw the shard toward the femme, landing on the ground and rolling to her heel. "Even though I won't be entering your ranks anytime in the future, I am forever and only in your debt."

He gave a great, slow bowing gesture: something that Arcee could only see him do to Megatron.

He rose back up. "And who knows?", he said as he started backing up. "….Maybe our paths will cross again in the _nearer_ future?"

He sleekly transformed into his superior F-16 jet mode, boosted his thrusters, and launched to the sky.

Arcee looked up for a klik and then looked down at the energon crystal fragment. She bent down to pick it up and observed it. It wasn't rigged with any explosives or detonators. Maybe this Starscream _was_ the real deal.

She patched in her com-link. ::Optimus, I need a bridge.::

::Understood, Arcee::

**:End Link:**

The groundbridge flashed on. Arcee took the shard and calmly walked back to base.

When she got back, only Optimus Prime was waiting at the end for her return. He watched her stroll through the bridge and then closed it once she stepped foot onto the concrete floor.

His expression gave the familiar look of inquiry as she came up to him with the shard.

Arcee gave a sort of smile and said in her most quiet voice, "….You're not going to believe this!"

* * *

**The next few chapters will now focus on Starscream alone, as he is now roaming the planet in observation, cemented on his newfound respect for life itself. _Reviews are highly appreciated!_**


	10. IX: Abandoned (Full Version)

**_*EDIT [7/3/13]: FULL VERSION OF CHAPTER 9 IS NOW HERE!*_**

**So...3 weeks without an update. I am SOOO sorry for the delay, you guys! I've been in a sort of rut/writer's block with what to actually WRITE in the story, as opposed to thinking WHAT I should do. Don't worry, I know _e__xactly_ how I'm going to end Act 1 of the story; Act 2 is still a bit in progress; Act 3, I already know basically everything I'm going to do, even the ending.**

**Anyways, I've mostly been procrastinating with my spare time, but I've also created a new story- my second one ever! If anyone is interest, I HIGHLY recommend it! Though a fair warning, though: it is a Rated-M fic, so PLEASE keep that in mind! Thank you for your cooperation! :)**

**Also, I have a new poll on my profile determining what new fics to do, and I would be very _very VERY_ grateful if as many people could vote as they can! You can vote for three different answers (four fics yet to be made, and two [including this fic] that are in works). PLEASE VOTE! THANK YOU!**

**Title Inspiration: _'Abandoned'_ by Kamelot**

* * *

_**Translation guide for Cybertronian Time Dates [CTS] (As made by DreamMaster08X)**_

_Nano-Klik = 1 second  
__Klik = 1 minute/60 Nano-Kliks  
__Joor = 1 hour/60 Kliks  
__Meta-Cycle/Cycle = 1 day/24 joors  
__Mega-Cycle = 1 week/7 cycles  
__Deca-Cycle = 3 weeks/21 cycles  
__Stellar-Cycle = 1 year/Approx. 17 deca-cycles (18 on leap year)  
__Orn = 16 stellar-cycles  
__Vorn = 83 stellar-cycles_

**_*Note: this is not an official translation guide, but the one used for all of my stories*_**

* * *

_Once my life was plain and clear_  
_I recall_  
_Once my ignorance was bliss_  
_Nightfall came_  
_Like a serpent's kiss_  
_To my troubled mind_

_Why my God_  
_Have you abandoned me_  
_In my sobriety_  
_Behind the old facade_  
_I'm your bewildered child_  
_So take me cross the river wide_

_Binding promises were made_  
_On my soul_  
_Grand illusions lead astray_  
_Ice cold winds swept my heart away_  
_Bring me back to you_

_I remember a song_  
_Like in a dream_  
_Where September was long_  
_And winter unreal_

* * *

**Chapter IX**

_Abandoned_

"Y-Y…Y-You're meaning to tell me that…t-that he _thanked _you!?"

Arcee gave a nod, still just as surprised as her human counterpart.

Two meta-cycles ago, the day of her latest encounter with Starscream, the femme had told the rest of the team the news, now that she found her plan to be quite an unexpected fusion of both success and failure . Had it not worked out _at all_, Optimus, Arcee, and Ratchet, since the medic found out, agreed to keep it between the three of them….that was, _if_ Arcee _did_ come back alive.

After school the cycle after the next, the femme took Jack back to base, as did the other guardians with their corresponding counterparts, and filled them in on every detail of the Seeker.

And by every detail, it meant _every __**little**_ detail.

From the first meeting and his exposure as the murderer of Cliffjumper (to which Arcee kept hidden surprisingly well from the kids, apart from Jack), to her hasty judgment and contrite aid to the Seeker while trapped underground (which again, Jack was told), and then finally her strategy of aiding the Seeker, followed by the outcome.

Jack, who above the rest had the most knowledge of her affiliation with Starscream, was the first to respond.

"H-He…_he_, your teammate's _killer_…actually _thanked_ y-you!?"

Arcee nodded again. She was hoping Jack would have been the most understanding of the group, but his reaction told him that he had die-hard split mixed feelings about the Seeker.

"You think he might really be different now, Arcee?", Raf queried.

Miko jumped up from her seat and also interjected in the conversation as well. "You mean like having Starscream as a new member of Team Prime? Suh-wee-." She then paused for a moment, in which her expression reformed from enthusiastic to unpleasant. "…Wait…have a _Decepticon_ on our team!? Not cool! Arcee, are you outta your fraggin' _mind!?_", she yelled, obviously grown adapted to the Cybertronian profanity. She heard it a couple times from Ratchet during the humans' commonplace shenanigans.

The femme wanted to laugh at the human girl's abrupt change of emotion, but nevertheless kept a straight face and looked down at Miko.

"I can't say that it _wasn't_ a possibility of mine. However, there was one minor detail that I didn't mention…Starscream said that he wouldn't be crawling back to Megatron or the Decepticons anytime soon."

"So why is he not here, then?", Jack asked.

"You didn't let me finish.", Arcee said with a scowl on her face. "He's no longer a 'Con…but he said he has no intention of joining the Autobots, either."

The humans said nothing and started exchanging looks at each other. Finally, Raf spoke, "So…this means that Starscream is going solo?"

"That's the only probability.", Arcee answered.

"You think he's planning on flying all the way back to Cybertron?", Miko stated.

"Or maybe he's going to build his own army of fighters and overthrow Megatron, and then most likely us?", Jack estimated.

"I don't know, guys.", Arcee said. "But one thing's for sure: right now, _I'm_ the only one he trusts. He told me himself."

The humans all stopped and looked at the femme with total shock.

"…Well, he didn't exactly _tell_ me directly. But from what I've assessed from his words, he might as well have been straightforward and said it."

And once again, the humans didn't speak after a long moment.

"So…you're plan _did_ work." Jack finally said. "It just didn't work out in the way _you_ expected it to turn out."

Arcee looked off into the distance, unsure of whether or not that was actually true. _Did_ she expect Starscream to fully commit himself to the Autobot cause?

She responded with uncertainty in her voice, "…I guess so"

"You _guess_ so?"

The femme sighed. "I don't know…I guess _maybe_ he would just become a whole new bot, reformatted from a completely different bot, but…but…"

As she spoke the last few words, Arcee, who was starting to lose interest in the discussion, began to drift off. Her face was full of curiosity…then positivity. Which then changed to doubt…and then sheer hatred.

"Arcee?"

The sudden voice of the youngest human, Raf, caught the femme's attention. She quickly turned her head towards the humans again.

"Is something wrong?", Jack asked.

Arcee froze for a moment. At the moment, her mind was stuck in a swirling vortex of chaos.

"…I…", she began to say. "…I-I'm sorry, guys. I…need to go and clear my head…"

The femme stood up from her kneeling position and walk away from the kids, taking note of the confused looks on their faces. Believe or not, she was just as baffled as they were. She was very uncertain about why she even came up with the plan in the place. Maybe he could've lost his life to gain a better one. Maybe he could've killed Arcee and bring her corpse as an offering to rejoin the Decepticon ranks.

Or perhaps…

…perhaps…

...perhaps she doesn't know anymore.

She blankly stumbled down the corridors, turned right, and headed down to her berthroom, with disorganized feelings scrambling inside of her head. The current emotion running through right now was anger. Once she reached the second door to the left, she exasperatedly punched her digits on the keypad to shut her door, staggered her way over to her berth, and fell down upon it.

Now that Arcee was immobile, she could contemplate her mixed feelings.

For the next few kliks, she rounded up every single little possible reason on her formulation to reaching out to Starscream and, most important of all…._why_.

In the end, Arcee came up with three plausible solutions:

_One_: Confession. Starscream would have gone forth with his original plan to spill out all of the Decepticon's deepest secrets. Perhaps telling them of a vulnerable spot on the Nemesis that the Autobots could hit and cause the entire warship to fall to disrepair; or maybe even expose them to Megatron's greatest weakness. The second estimation, nonetheless, seemed highly unlikely. This appeared to be the most rational presumption. His optics told them that he was begging for treachery.

_Two_: Abduction. Starscream gets ambushed by the rest of Team Prime, falls unconscious due to a blow to the head, and is therefore brought back to base for a brutal interrogation. However, Optimus Prime had promised not to do so unless Arcee patched him through com-link and requested it. Plus, detrimental interrogation wasn't very Autobot-like as well (unless used as a last resort). This was the most _irrational_ outcome, but it would have gotten the job done.

_Three_, and lastly: Redemption. Starscream grovels in great shame and regret and completely admitted himself to the Autobot cause.

This also seemed unlikely….but…

…in Arcee greatest faith of judgment throughout her vorns…_he wasn't lying._

In all of the femme's lifecycle, she had observed the many facial expressions of any living organism and being, Cybertronian or human, and, after a certain amount of time, had been able to detect the tiniest white lie by just watching the deceiver's optics and denta movements. If their sight wanders, their mouth quivers, or even their servos fidget around…lies are evidently discernible.

She took this into account when Team Prime came across a rage-induced Starscream caught in a web.

"**You wouldn't betray the Decepticons.", Arcee bluntly told the captive Seeker.**

"**Wouldn't I?", he retorted back with furious optics. "What have they done for me lately? Besides humiliate me, spy on me, demote me! Megatron tried to extinguish my spark in cold blood! Then all but replaced me with that traitorous glitch, Airachnid! She **_**abandoned**_** me! **_**Left me for SCRAP!**_** So why not **_**rat them out**_**?" He spoke the last three words with such ferocity.**

**The team all exchanged looks, then Optimus, Bulkhead, Arcee turned away from the Seeker to discuss the matters, leaving Bumblebee, shifting servo to blaster, to look after the helpless prisoner.**

**Arcee was the first to speak of the trio, while the other two stared back at the captive. **

"**He's telling the truth."**

**Bulkhead and Prime looked straight at Arcee, obviously questioning her motive.**

**She finished, "Megatron really did try to scrap him. I saw it myself."**

**The Wrecker's optics widened at the femme's contemplations.**

"**W-W-Wait….", he began to stammer. "…You're not saying that you actually **_**trust**_** Starscream, are you!?"**

**Arcee opened her mouth to speak, but then paused for a moment, looking at the Seeker. Her mind then recalled all of his previous motives, including his near-termination of Optimus Prime back in the Arctic. Then her words spoke for themselves."**

"**Trust him? **_**Never**_**.", she said quite bitterly, and then continued. "But this might be the only time that our objectives align."**

Looking back, she realized now that she has made a complete fool of herself. She _had_ trusted the Seeker…._three times!_ Once in the cavern when she saved his aft from rusting to death, another time when she moved forth with her plan to reach out to him, and once more when she used the groundbridge to meet up with him _all alone with no backup_. And she _trusted_ him!

And yet, all three times….not a single scratch was given each time (save for the cave-in, which, frankly, was the cave's fault).

Not _once _did Starscream ever harmed or even _laid_ a digit on Arcee.

…Maybe breaking her vow of distrust was for the better.

_If it was, then Starscream would have joined us._

Maybe he needed time to think things over. After all, switching sides with the former enemy is a _massive_ change.

_Did you not forget that this is the same fragger that slaughtered your partner?_

But why didn't he kill me the last time we met?

_He's probably building up your confidence just to strike you down when you least expect it._

Arcee was caught in a giant maelstrom of disparagement and pandemonium. Perhaps a quick recharge could clear her head.

She slowly offlined her optics and blanked out her mind, thinking of her three solutions on why she would trust Starscream: confession, abduction, and redemption.

Confession. Abduction. Redemption.

Confession…

…Abduction…

…Redemption…

….no….

….Perhaps….there was a fourth solution.

* * *

_**1**__**st**__** Cycle, late afternoon**_

Audio receptors began to pick up a strange sound in the distance below the clouds. Like some sort of soft collision between two of the same kind of object.

Starscream was familiar with this noise before. He had heard it multiple times while on a few recon missions with the astonishingly inadequate vehicons. It sounded like constant crashing, but not the bombastic kind emitted from two moving matters ramming into each other. No, it was more of a…lighter sound….

…Like…water.

The Seeker was flying straight above a body of water.

Starscream decided to cut the rest of his flight short, despite the fact that he has flown for at least 4 joors now, and give himself a rather halfhearted break. He slowed his thrusters and took a large, perpendicular, nosedive through the base of the clouds. His vision suddenly changed from hazy ash to bright sapphire. _Lots_ of bright sapphire. Primus, the sight of the body was _huge_! It spread far and beyond the horizon from where Starscream could see. Every other time he saw water with his own optics, they were much smaller and very sparse and murky. This one, on the other hand, was the precise opposite: deep, clear, vibrant, and_ enormous_.

The further down the Seeker went, the more bigger and deeper he could see through the water. He saw a few larger Earth creatures followed by a countless school of microscopic creatures from the other side of the thick, cerulean layer of liquid underneath him. Right when was 200 feet directly above the water (a hazardously bold move on Starscream's part), the Seeker forcibly pulled himself up to a horizontal position and boosted his accelerators, just _barely _missing the sea level by mere inches.

Up ahead he spotted a dark, indistinct view in the distance, about a few miles from Starscream. It looked quite vacant and fallow: a perfect place for shelter.

Yesterday, the Seeker called upon the Autobot femme, Arcee, to announce to her, along with the rest of the Autobots, that he had decided to resign from his post as SIC of the Decepticons in pursuit of exploration and discovery on the very planet that they walk upon. A closer observation could prove quite vital should all of the Cybertronians here be permanently stranded for the remainder of their lifecycle. Megatron never allowed any of the 'Cons to research and study the humans because he believed that any of the information gathered would prove useless in his future endeavors….and by endeavors, the tyrant would really mean _conquests_.

He reached the island in under 2 kliks, a record time. Even under the dictatorial command of Megatron, Starscream seldom jettisoned his post on a mission so fast to return to his commander. As the Seeker slowly flew over the shore of the isle, he quickly transformed and touched the soft ground, heels first, immediately dropping the energon cubes that he had kept inside cockpit. He had just enough of being stuck inside the Primus-forsaken cave and it's draftiness. He needed someplace warmer.

The substance on the ground was very fluffy, though it had the flaw of sticking to his fine, silver coating. His exterior finish had slowly healed overtime and are now showing as light battlescars. Funny, seeing they were given to him from both the cave-in _and_ the faulty engine incidents. However, Starscream now considered this remote habitation of seclusion his reward for putting up with his accidents, misfortunes, and near-offlining experiences, and building up his spark from the most brutal tortures and cruelties from Megatron.

He plopped onto the thick, golden layer beneath him, leaned back, and buried his helm deep into it.

Sand! That was the name of this substance! _Sand_. For a time, during his time on the Nemesis, Starscream managed to hack into one of the ship's smaller mainframes and access Earth's global database: the Internet it was called. It was very similar to the database on Cybertron. He spent several joors, roughly 6 or 7, examining the world's most important, beneficial, and expedient statistics. The body of water in front of Starscream was actually referred to as an ocean, and most of the material that appears near it, along with arid and dry patches on land, was called sand. The Seeker practically loved indulging into Earth's endless catalogue of curiosity. Unfortunately, the best of things had to come to an end, as Megatron finally caught Starscream sneaking up info against his wishes, and was subject to a rough beating, though not quite as brutal as previous thrashings.

Despite the warlord's repulsion of interfering with human affairs, Starscream craved for more of it. This was partially the main reason for the Seeker's resignation from his post. Another was the beatings from Megatron.

And a third….for the lack of fondness that Arcee had given.

Starscream had to admit, the femme must really be quite the forgiver. One cycle, she's at him with her gun in his face; the next, she gave him an offering of energon in an attempt to absolve their differences. She certainly was a _very_ erratic being. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. The Seeker felt as if he were more predictable, at least from his perspective. Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from her.

That is, _if_ their paths ever cross again.

'_If Primus wills it, then so be it._', Starscream told himself.

He closed his optics and went straight into deep thought. Many things ran through his mind one by one. His arrival on earth. His watching Megatron's discovery of Dark Energon's regenerative properties. His supposed elimination of the warlord. His excruciating torture from Megatron after his revival. (_Primus, Megatron certainly is a vicious mech!_) His capture under the Autobots. His near-killing of Arcee, followed by the tables being turned and her almost annihilating him. His encounter with Arcee in the cavern. His discovering the gift from her. His speech and thank-you to her.

Arcee.

_Arcee._

The name was starting to sound very pleasant now.

Though the femme would probably say otherwise, when Starscream remember one gigantic flaw in their alliance: He terminated her partner…

…_And actually felt proud of doing so._

'_Primus, I'm a fragging imbecile!'_, Starscream thought. He all of the sudden realized his foolish action that nearly cost him his life! And the worst part is…is…

…Arcee may never forgive him for that.

She could forgive him for nearly killing her. She could forgive him for almost blowing up the Autobots inside the energon mine several deca-cycles ago. Hell, she could probably even forgive him for his wrongdoings back on Cybertron, no matter how terrible they may have been.

But this was an exploit that would cause a grudge lasting both of their entire lifecycles.

_All because of him…_

Starscream just wanted her forgiveness for that one particular moment. And he may never have that wish fulfilled _**ever**_…

He buried his head deeper into the hot sand, not minding that it stuck to his face like cement.

The Seeker put his servos to his optics and uttered his only wish of the cycle.

"Arcee…._Will you ever forgive me?_"

* * *

_**2**__**nd**__** Cycle, early dawn**_

While searching around the now-confirmed uninhabited island after his much needed recharge, Starscream traversed through the thick, overgrown specimen that attached itself to the ocean's shore- _Trees_, as the humans refer to them as- and coincidentally found himself a cave that may shield him from any imminent dangers…that is _if_ there was nothing dangerous in the cave itself. Fortunately, there was nothing that could harm the Seeker except for a couple of bats. '_Pathetic.'_

He decided to head back to the beach, gather up all of his remaining energon cubes, and transport them back to his new safe haven. He wouldn't want them to get washed away from the tides of the waves. That was another factoid that he collected from the 'Net': the ocean waves walloping up against the shore can shift higher and lower due to the gravitational masses of the planet's moon. The closer the vessel, the stronger the tides would act up. He immediately remembered this when he woke up from his recharge and the water, which was several feet away when he began sleep, were crashing against the heels of his pedes, waking him up with the rather cold of the water.

Once Starscream secured the cubes in a chamber hidden deep in the hollow, he started shaking off more of the sand that began building underneath his chestplates and into his internal workings. Too much buildup would cause serious problems. After he got what seemed like pounds of the golden matter off of him, he looked around the room with wide optics.

'_This place has been untouched,'_ thought the Seeker. The cavern looked more natural, as opposed to the previous one, which was forcefully scraped from human tools. _'Surely there must be a fresh pile of energon crystals inside here.'_

_**ZZZT!**_

That task would have to wait, for Starscream heard the sound of his own energon cables zapping around due to the sand jam. He needed some way to cleanse himself. Unfortunately, there were no washracks in slagging isolated places like this.

That was a price the Seeker was going to have to live with for freedom.

Then he suddenly remembered…._'The ocean!'_

Starscream zoomed out of the cave, outside, and ran towards the giant vessel of water in his vision. He treaded through the sand and slowly stepped into the thick layer. It was cold on touch, but after a brief nano-klik, it actually felt really nice. Without any second thoughts, he jumped straight into the water. When he popped out from underwater, the first thing he ended doing was raucously spitting out the water. It was very…salty. Much too salty for his taste.

Despite the flavor, Starscream noticed that the water quickly washed away the troubling sand. It felt so relieving….for about a klik. Until the Seeker realized that the old problems were being taken over by new ones. Apparently, salt had about the same effect on a Cybertronian's internal systems, if not worse. Starscream hurried his way over back to shore and hoarsely shook off the combination of salt, sand, and possibly other specimens from his chassis. He was going to have to live with the last bits caught in his underside. As long as he kept himself tidy, he wouldn't have to worry about anything building up from his internal or external features. He kept thinking about the numerous places that the substances could accumulate. In between his digits, which wouldn't be much of a problem, as he could just scrape it off; Underneath his heels, which might pose a small dilemma; In his optics. _Ouch_. Hedidn't even want to think about that. The worst place for the buildup was underneath his interface panel. If it got stuck there…

It was still morning, and it didn't look like there was much else to explore on the island. The only other place that looked interesting was a volcanic escarpment about 15 kliks due north by pede. And unfortunately, it would remind him too much of the mine incident with Megatron… and his near-termination. Primus, that was something he wasn't going to forget anytime soon.

That left one single choice for Starscream: temporarily leave base and explore elsewhere.

That sounded perfect. After all, had he not volunteered to examine the endless virtues, statistics, and prospects of another world for the mere cost of companionship. It was a quality that he could live without anyways.

The Seeker quickly glanced towards the supposedly endless-looking horizon and decided to head straight back in the opposite direction that he arrived from. With that said, in a flash, Starscream headed back to the cavern, grabbed his energon cubes, transformed into flight mode, and took off from the cave, out of the jungle, and into the sunrise.

* * *

_**3**__**rd**__** Cycle, early dusk**_

Approximately 33 joors of roving, reconnaissance, and research, and the Seeker arrived back at base, his mind filled with all brand new statistics. It took him approximately 56 kliks to reach the shore of the country, where he came across a solidly built human city by the ocean. It was reasonably large by human standards (it was considered a mere settlement on Cybertron) and contained a rather tall and unusually-shaped building with a sort of unidentifiable top and an antenna on top of it. He picked up radio frequencies with his jet-mode transistors (courtesy of Soundwave for creating one for him) and could gather from all of the radio stations' enthusiastic hosts that the metropolis was known as Seattle, Washington.

For the next few joors, Starscream slowly glided across the skyline flipping through various radio networks. Some featured various talk show hosts that bring out human guests that the Seeker had never heard of. Truth be told, he was only familiar with the 3 petty youngsters of the Autobots. Other networks provided sources of music: a trend which grew progressively popular on Cybertron at the start of the war. These sounds quite differed from Cybertronian music. It sounded a bit more clear. Like the separate instrument recordings were taken and altered to fit and blend together more well. Starscream wasn't sure it this was a good or bad thing.

Either way, it counted as statistic accumulation. And that was all the Seeker needed.

There were also several posters and advertisements on numerous buildings, boards, and strings hanging on the back of other aircrafts: all entirely pointless. Save for the planes. The needle-like building was what Starscream's attention. It was a very peculiar design, indeed. There were countless buildings on Cybertron with bizarre shapes and forms, but to see one on this planet was rare, even by his standards.

About 5 joors was spent hovering above the city cycling through several stations and eyeing the citizens and vehicles below. Afterwards, the Seeker grew increasingly tired, so he found refugee in another uninhibited cave in the tall mountain range not far from the metropolis, and spent the night there. He was fortunate enough to dig up and come across a few crystals of energon, and decided to chew and process them all so he didn't have to haul it back. The surge that went out when he found the energon wasn't powerful enough to show up on either the Autobot's or Decepticon's radars, so he need not to worry about that. Once all crystals were liquefied and consumed, he went into recharge. When he woke from recharge, he immediately left and searched on. Unfortunately, in contrast to his fruitful findings the cycle before, today provided no help whatsoever. After more than half the cycle of absolutely nothing useful, he gave up all hope and decided to go back to base.

As flew over the island, he went past the beach and straight through the cave. He felt very deprived of his ineffective cycle, so decided to search deeper in the cave and find more energon. He found a few more, probably more than he found in the temporary base. He set it all aside with the cubes of processed energon. He wanted to save those in case of a disastrous emergency.

His mind and processors, though fruitless and empty from today, felt queasy due to extensive trips of flying around. Slowly he set himself on the ground and settled in for an early recharge. It took a few kliks before his mind was completely blank.

* * *

_**5**__**th **__**Cycle, high noon**_

Not much had in the past few cycles. Starscream searched further deep into the cave for more energon, and became half-satisfied with the results. He at least found enough to last for a mega-cycle, which meant that he could rest more knowing he had something to live on. However, with his current amount of rations, the Seeker was afraid that it would be big enough to set off the energon sensors on the Nemesis. He conveniently dug out a crevice to hide the rations and faintly covered most of it to where it shouldn't be able to show up on any sensors, Bots or Cons alike, but not too much to where he might misplace it.

He spent some time outside base, deciding to expend some of his free time exploring the further realms of the island. There wasn't much to sightsee, as it was nothing but coastlines, jungles, and volcanic massifs. Of course, he didn't spend much time in the mountains. Too many reminders of why he decided to quit war in the first place. In fact, he now pondered about all the many reasons to resign his post: _Too much overtime. Too many workshifts. Too many accidents. Too much abuse. Being kept under constant surveillance on the Nemesis 24/7. Subordinates who are to incompetent to complete the simplest tasks. Knockout's obsession with his paintjob. Soundwave always spying on him. The wretched spider-like afthead Airachnid. Breakdown's obsession with the spider-aft._

And above all: _Megatron_.

_**Megatron**_.

That reason alone was enough to make his resignation logical.

He suffered under the wing of the vicious tyrant for eons. At first, Megatron was like a sire to Starscream, which made him the happiest Seeker alive. He grew up not knowing his creators or his origins, so being cared for at sparkling-hood made him feel welcome. However, over the course of the war, the Seeker noticed a slow change in the warlord: he became more and more violent and power-hungry- much more than he already was at the time. When he first met him as a sparkling, even through that fearful face of his was a soft spark for neonatal creations. Overtime, however, the casualties of war had drove him insane. His strategized, barely-fatal battleplans were switched with more dangerous and bombastic ones. He first cared about the will and strength of one soldier than a thousand, but then suddenly, he didn't give a frag if their sparks were snuffed….even by his servo, at times.

And the worst part was, everyone had willingly followed him into the Pit and back several times too many. Including him.

It was only a matter of time before someone had the spark to stand aside.

During more excursions around the island, Starscream noticed a slight change: the clouds above started to become darker and darker. Their usual white, fluffy textures were suddenly replaced by dark grey, portentous opacities that, quite frankly, made him worried. All of a sudden, something light hit the Seeker on the shoulder. He went to touch it, but nothing was there.

Except…it was something else. Something…wet.

Wet…

…_Rain_.

It was another piece of earth evidence that Starscream studied up on. It was a form of change on the planet's weather patterns. At times, the rain was accompanied with thunderstorms. At other times, during various time spans in an earth cycle, the rain freezes up and becomes composed of another earth matter known as _snow_. By the looks of it, thunderstorms seemed very likely. And the Seeker decided it was so when suddenly, the rain began to speed down at a gradual pace.

Starscream quickly dived off the face of the cliff he was standing near, transformed into his jet mode, and glided down towards the direction of his base. Halfway through, the rain started to pour down at a brisk pace. When he caught sight of the cave mouth, he began to slow his speed thrusters down. Unfortunately, he slowed down at the worst possible moment. Lightning from the sky began striking down all of the sudden. One shock of thunder struck down on his right wing, blowing out the thruster next to it. He began spiraling down at an alarming rate.

'_Oh Primus, not this again!'_ Starscream thought, bitterly recalling his previous crash just a mega-cycle ago.

There was no point in fretting around like last time, though. Instead, when he hit about 200 feet off the ground, he shifted back into bipedal form and did his best to try and land in the smoothest method. The Seeker stretched his entire body as straight as he could. 100 feet. He spread out every limb of his body to catch as much air as he could to slow himself down. 50 feet. At the last nano-klik, he pulled himself into an upright postion and braced for impact.

_**BOOOMM!**_

The crash was rough, but it was at least more tolerable than the other one. When he regained his strength after a klik, he stood back up and was met with an entire downpour of water and shame.

Unbelievable…the first mega-cycle he dedicates his life to solitude for science, and for what? All info he has gathered so far was beyond impractical, and whatever locations he tried to scout for, was nothing but the same slagging expanses of forests, mountains, and oceans.

'_So now this is what is to become of me now'_, he thought. _'Being reduced to a pile of rust and left to whatever crawls upon this Primus-forsaken isle. Fraggit…Frag it all to the Pit!'_

Slowly Starscream made his way into the cavern, bringing along whatever sense of dignity he had left with him…which, in this current case, was none.

* * *

**PLEASE review, as any and all recommendations will be very helpful!**


	11. X: The Edge Of Paradise

**This chapter will be found by most readers to be cheesy and pathetic, so please keep that in mind, as I hurried myself on this chapter. No flames, please!**

**Also, many _many MANY_ thanks to 'Super Mario Bros 7' [aka, Darkest Nightmare's Dread] for looking over the drafts for me. It's been an honor working with you from here to in the future. :)**

**Song Title Inspiration: _'The Edge of Paradise'_ by Kamelot**

_Sleepless, not really quite awake  
Where the soul conforms to deeper needs  
Free within frames of custody  
I revolve my spirit and exhale _

_On the edge of paradise  
Poison burning in my veins  
Unavailing, compromised  
My dreams remain the same_

_Soothing but yet so violent_  
_In this world within the other world_  
_Moonlight in visions, heaven sent_  
_I see demon's eyes and wings unfurled_

_On the edge of paradise  
Poison burning in my veins  
Unavailing, compromised  
My dreams remain the same_

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_The Edge of Paradise_

_**7**__**th**__** Cycle – midnight**_

_Cold_...

_It felt…cold…_

…_Scrap, not this again…_

A powerful déjà vu came across Starscream's mind as he lay pitifully on the rock-hard ground next to his energon reserve. He created a deeper trench in the wall of a small chamber hidden behind some large stalagmites, in case of intruders. While the soil beneath him was quite rough, the warmth it contain more than made up for the flaw. It reminded him of his old berth back on the Nemesis.

'_No, no more thinking about that wretched, cursed vessel,'_ the Seeker thought to himself. _'All that is past for now.'_ He currently had no plans to try and contact or breach the Autobots _nor_ Decepticons. If Primus wills it, any future meetings will come to him.

His wing and thruster were still burned out from the lightning strike from 28 joors ago. He did his best to not fly at all due to his sporadic condition. Sure, back on Cybertron, he faced much far worse and still was able to fly; it was only the matter of vitality and energy that he need to get to his destination with his defect. Not to mention, he only flew via defect due to Megatron's harsh orders to immediately come back to him. Though Starscream fortified his endurance over eons of repeating this rut during war, he preferred to rest every chance he could. And this would be his only chance for now.

Starscream's audio receptors picked up a faint sound in the distance: raindrops. The storm seemed to have died down much more than when it first came a cycle and a half ago. A full meta-cycle of rest heightened his sense a whole lot more. Much like he was as a mechling.

Primus, why couldn't things be easy like they were at youth cycles.

_Oh who was he kidding? Things weren't easy as a young mech either._

The Seeker still lay in the ditch curled up in a defensive position, his wing still hurting like scrap. It didn't hurt as much as it did right after the incident. Of course, it was only an exterior wound. Any stronger force would also damage the interior as well. Starscream looked over his shoulder and saw a scar where he was hit: a long, darker gray line that ran down from the mid-section all the way down to his back. It had a couple segments where the line branched out into other forms of lines. Like a sort of tree. Or like his inner veins.

He tried to rub it off gently with the palm of his servo, but nothing came off. They weren't interior markings, but not quite exterior either. Was it just a hallucination of Starscream's? No… possibly not. Maybe it was an err that occurs when struck by electricity. Yes, that was probable.

In fact, Starscream did feel a sort of surge course through his body during the strike. It wasn't pleasant nor painful. It was just…robust. It caused the flaw of blowing out his means of flight, but it didn't mutilate him to the point of madness. As a matter of fact, he might still be able to fly out of here by tomorrow.

…Maybe be even right now…

…It was worth the shot.

Slowly and sluggishly, the Seeker dug his claws into the ground and pushed himself up onto all fours, gradually bringing himself to his knees. The sharp, red point on the tip of his head scraped a bit of dirt from low ceiling, since he plowed the pit out for protection. Sounds of energon cubes and crystals falling reached Starscream's audio receptors as he pulled himself out of the burrow and into the main section of the grotto. He turned left and head towards the direction of outside.

'_I wouldn't do that if I were you.'_

Starscream nearly leaked himself when he heard that sentence came from out of nowhere.

"Who said that!?" The Seeker responded as he looked in every direction of the chamber. No one was around. _What the scrap_?

'_You know, that burst of electricity did bring a lot out of me as well,'_ the voice spoke again in a somewhat joyous manner.

Strange. The only time he ever heard that voice was when…

_Oh, Pit-slag._

"Where have you been all this time?"

'_You specifically told me to slag off the last time I ever spoke to you. I took that affront into consideration, and assumed it meant you never wanted to me to speak again.'_ The voice sounded so sincere but stony.

"And yet, you abandoned your protocol just now. Why is that?"

'_I was going to be pitiless and let you wander outside with that injury of yours, but I decided against it.'_

"It's not an injury: just a…mishap, is all," Starscream said, still walking/limping to the entrance.

'_Bad idea, Screamer,'_ the voice said mockingly.

Starscream sighed and asked in an irritated manner, "Why?"

'_There's no telling how far you'll go before you're stopped dead in your tracks.'_

"What do you mean?" The Seeker, by this point, was getting very frustrated, and even resisted the urge to slap his servo at the vacant space of air in front of him, as if the voice was coming from there.

When he finally saw what was outside the cave, his spark stopped at the sight in his peripheral vision.

A storm. A giant storm. Unlike the previous one, which grew to be a moderately-sized squall of wind and thunder, this one was _massive_ in size, structure, and delivery. The usually black night of the sky was now completely covered with menacing, dark grey and even dark green clouds. The lightning also came down in even bigger and even more forays. Even the gales became much more threatening, rendering any flight excursions to be hazardous.

Unfortunately, his conscience was right.

'_See, I told you.'_

Even his conscience rubbed in his face.

"How did you know?"

'_The whole world is like this as of this moment. I'm not sure of what is the central cause of it, but the entire earth feels as if it were out of balance.'_

The world, out of balance? How could Starscream's inner ramblings calculate the masses of a whole planet!? No matter: either way, the Seeker believed the rambler.

That only left one other option for Starscream: turn around and go straight back to where he came from. Which was exactly what he did.

_Well, this was a tight mess,_ the Seeker thought minus the voice. _Confined to a restricted space underground Primus knows where. And it's not like this place exactly had the best of amenities or entertainment._ Then again, the Nemesis didn't have anything either. At least not something of worth. The only places, which weren't necessarily the best of amusement in Starscream's case, were the laboratory and washracks. A trip to the washracks always felt good after even the worst of times, and the lab had some concoctions to experiment with, though not quite enough to keep the Seeker occupied for long. Of course, he tried out the training facilities a couple of times, but it'd always end with and misfire that caused his former lord to fume with sheer ire.

At this point, it seemed that the warship was a much better dwelling than this Primus-forsaken Pit hole.

The only productive action to do now was to rest and masticate on energon crystals. Starscream crawled straight back into his hole and curled into his earlier position. Since his optics were growing weary from a deficiency of energon, he took another crystal and once again began consuming its fuel.

* * *

_**7**__**th**__** Cycle – early dusk**_

Nearly the whole cycle has pasted…and that blasted storm _still_ hasn't stopped.

If anything, it might have actually gotten _worse_!

Still lying pitifully in the servo-made crevice, Starscream peeked his head from out of the hole and observed his surroundings. The ground underneath him frequently shook with the timing of the sounds of thunder and the flashes of lightning he could see from the faint light of outside. He was not far from the cave's entrance. Unfortunately, just now, he was now beginning to regret his choice of position when he caught sight of something immensely alarming.

The rain began to kick in at a sideways angle, causing a torrent of water to spray into the cave.

And what was even worse: the water was actually starting to build up.

If it continues to do this, it might eventually cause a flood in the cave!

'_No, no, no…it can't end like this!'_ the Seeker thought to himself. He had predicted to die in any other way, whether it'd be over-consumption of high grade, an honorable death at old age, or even at the servos of Megatron because of an attempted assassination. Primus, Even the last answer seemed more likely than this!

'_No, no. No…'_

It can't be. Not like this. This was too meek a death to be true

Sure enough, when Starscream looked up the slope, the water began drizzling down the cave in soft but gradually-building rows. When the water ran down and past his heels, it felt very tepid. Like an oil bath.

But at least no oil bath had any intention of killing him.

Quickly, Starscream pulled himself out of the hole and figuratively went into panic mode. That much buildup in his internal systems could flush out his veins entirely of energon and cause him to suffocate and, in time, cause his demise. Sure, he could tolerate enough amounts of water in decent-sized circumstances, but by the likes of this storm, that much liquid would inevitably lead to death. He was stuck in the most problematic of situations: either go outside and risk too many unrepairable injuries from current weather conditions, or stay in and face a slow and painful termination.

The only direction that Starscream could go in at the moment was backwards. The Seeker finally made up his mind, grabbed every last energon crystal and cube that he could, and ran right south, away from the mouth of the cave. It seemed to go on, like he remembered it to be just a couple cycles ago. Unfortunately, he ran straight into a dead-end chamber.

'_Slag. Slag. SLLLLAAAAAG,'_ was all that ran through the Seeker's mind.

The river had caught back up with Starscream's pedes once again. The Seeker closed his optics in fright as the water hit his heels. Too much. Too long to wait just to meet an end.

Before he did anything else, he dropped his energon reserves on the ground, threw his arms straight into the air, servos extended, and shouted at the top of his processors.

"Why, Primus!? Why!? Why must this be the end for me!? Just why!?"

His servos clenched in the air.

"It's just not fair! Why must I die in the most pathetic way possible!? WHY?!"

Suddenly, a quick thought ran through Starscream's mind.

…Was this supposed to be an omen?

Was this Primus' way of telling Starscream to repent his wickedness and have life in exchange? Was Starscream beginning to become a more wicked being than…than Megatron himself!? That couldn't be. No way. But then again, why was nature itself so avid on trying to kill him in the first place? It just can't be coincidental. It just can't be.

"…Is…is this how you want to get my remorse?" the Seeker shouted. "I…I can't fragging believe this slag!"

The water started to build up inside the cave, with Starscream's pede soles submersed in it.

"Is this your way off wanting to change me? I am a mech of great pride and confidence, and you expect me to give that up for the petty excuse of life and death!?"

Nothing.

No response. Not even the slightest indicator that his query had been answered.

Perhaps Primus _did _want Starscream to change for the better. But why him?

Finally, as the water was up to his ankle height, the Seeker looked up into the ceiling and spoke aloud.

"Fine…you want me to say I'm sorry!? Then I'll give it to you!" He took a deep intake.

"I'm sorry for choosing the side of the Decepticons! I admit, I'm not proud of it! In fact, I've come to regret my decision on working with that wretched gladiator, Megatron! He's beaten me nearly to death a thousand times and more for even the slightest of mistakes! I'm sorry I ever worked for that glitch!" Another deep intake.

"I'm sorry for all the lives I've destroyed of my fallen brethren, no matter what faction! All mechs and femmes should be given a chance to live, no matter the consequences, and I've taken away countless sparks! Please forgive me for that!" One more breath.

"And…and…I'm sorry…for the Autobots." His optics grew angry. "Is that why you want me to apologize: specifically for the Autobots?! Why should I apologize for engaging with the enemy!? Why should I shun my self-respect of my principles for my own life!?"

He wasn't going to believe what he was about to say next, after another intake, of course.

"But, nevertheless…I will give it up this once. I'm sorry for…f-for…f-for the Autobots…"

He would hope that the last apology would get Primus' attention, and then stop the storm for good.

But…

…but…

…but nothing stopped.

Instead…the storm kept going on.

Starscream's pedes were now fully submersed in the water.

"I…I…don't understand."

He just threw his old life and morals for…for _this_!?

The sudden realization of the Seeker's own confession came to his senses, which caused him to look back up to the heavens and shout.

"Primus! You _tricked me_!"

Now he was officially tarnished to the epitome of shame and embarrassment.

"Why can't you at least spare my spark!? I gave up my morals as a Decepticon, and _THIS _is how you _**REPAY ME**_!? I told you I was sorry!"

He clenched his fists in pure rage.

"Did you he me!? I said _I'm sorry!"_

Ire was all that was contained within the Seeker's spark now. The last two words he spoke were screamed at the top of his processors:

"_**I'M SOOOOOORRRRRYYYYYYYYY!"**_

With a great deal of fury, Starscream servos came down and smashed the ground, causing an enormous tremor throughout the grotto's chamber. Such anguish filled his entire spark within nano-kliks.

He couldn't believe he just bellowed all of that out. Was it real? Did he really mean every little detail and word he screamed? Or was it just a fabrication to trick the great Cybertronian God?

A few drops of coolant fell from his optics before coming out in a stream of desolation, pouring out into the slowly rising river of his unofficial, soon-to-be termination chamber.

So this truly was the end of his time. While the Seeker couldn't believe it had to be this way, he had no other choice than to get past this cataclysm with the littlest scrap of dignity he had to spare.

Whether or not his apologies to Primus were true, he that what he was about to say next _was_.

"…If this is how it's supposed to be, then so be it…

"…I accept my fate…"

Starscream closed his optics and began to wait.

And wait.

And wait…

…waiting…

…_waiting_…

…

…

…_No_.

Starscream had just about enough of his own pitiful outlook.

No.

He needed to take matters into his own servos.

The Seeker brought himself up from his knees and stood into a defensive position. The water now immersed half oof his lower legs, which meant not a lot of time left.

He looked around him a caught sight of several stalagmites and stalactites. Then he looked back at the chamber entrance that was flooding him.

Then, within nano-kliks, the Seeker figured out his plan.

"Not on my watch, Primus," he said with full-blooded determination on his face.

Without wasting a simple shred of time, Starscream ripped the stalagmite closest to him and barred it up against the archway. Thankfully, the rock was heavy enough to where it didn't get dragged away from the water. _'Good,'_ the Seeker thought. He tore another stalagmite and set it atop the first one. It helped perfectly to slow down the flow of water. One by one, he eventually tore down the stalactites from the ceiling and completely sealed the arch shut.

No danger. Nothing. Not only but a few harmless drops of liquid that dripped on the rocks were all that Starscream

With a smile on his face and his spark full of joy, the Seeker spoke again.

"It worked! _It worked_! I'm going to live! _I'M GOING TO LIVE!_"

He couldn't believe himself with everything that just happened.

Throughout the span of about five kliks, he was alone and afraid, ran away from catastrophe in fear, stared into the face of the Pit with full acceptance, then completely averted his death and forged himself in a mech of…of…

…_honor_.

Well, at least that's what Starscream was going to call it from now on.

The now-fearless Seeker took a seat on his bare aft and completely forgot about the water that still surrounded him. While seated on the ground, the water level was at his waist. He took this into account and began digging a crevice in the high wall that could serve as his resting spot.

It took him about a joor or two to create a mid-level hole big enough to keep him off the wet ground. When finished, he squeezed himself into the crevice and curled up into it, ready for a recharge.

All he did before that was pray that the barricade could hold up until the weather stopped.

* * *

_**8**__**th**__** Cycle – morning**_

Optics wide open.

Sensors fully aware.

The Seeker raised his head up and took a long, hard look at the ground…still covered with water.

_Scrap. It still must be storming outside._

But, then again…he can't hear the sounds of thunder anymore. So luck might just be on his side today. _Good_ luck, that is. He wasn't about to stand around and guess. He needed to take action.

Starscream took his time crawling out of the hole, since it was smaller than the one near the entrance, and plopped onto the ground pedes first. His heels hit the water with a giant splash. The fluid level was still halfway up his lower legs, yet there was a slight chance that the level might have decreased over the lunar-cycle. No matter. He went over to the barricade of pillars and pressed one of his audio receptors against it.

Much to his relief, no sounds of danger.

In fact…it seemed a bit too quiet…

…No, he was exaggerating his surroundings.

But…what if something dangerous was being contained on the side.

He needed to find out.

Starscream's servos galvanized quickly as his choice was made up. He plunged both of them underneath a piece of one of the pillars and pulled with all of his might. Within nano-kliks, the obstruction came out.

Bad choice.

Because the next thing the Seeker knew, the entire barricade came tumbling down on him. For a brief moment, he didn't know what had happened. Until all of a sudden, his optics caught sight of…water…coming down from behind the archway.

'_**SCRAP!'**_ was all that ran through Starscream's mind as the clear liquid consumed his whole protoform and put sheer pressure and strain on each part of his internal workings. Great Primus, it felt like he was being crinkled into a pile of scrap.

Fortunately, the feeling did not last for even a klik.

Suddenly, everything felt quiet. And calm. And…painless.

Was this the afterlife? Did the Seeker become one with the Allspark?

His questions were answer when he finally opened his optics.

Nope.

He was still alive. He could guess so when all he could see were blurred by a liquid substance he was entirely submerged in. Everything around him had a tint of cerulean now. Not to mention that time itself felt slower than usual. What an interesting mix of effects that the element held.

Starscream pushed himself forward out of the chamber he temporarily entombed himself him. Even with all of his might, the substance kept him running in midair and slowed him down as if time shifted to a lesser pace. It took him nearly a klik to turn around the corner of the entrance and up the slope. He appeared to have found a discontinuity in the water's surface where it met with another adjacent surface. Faster and faster, he swam closer and closer to the breaking point, eager to find out what lay above the exterior.

Closer. And closer. And closer…

…Until…

_**SPLASH!**_

Air.

It was air that was on the other side.

Though Cybertronians didn't need to breath air to survive. However, after near-death experience of asphyxiation, it was extremely pleasant to be rid of that cursed trauma.

A few moments later, and then Starscream's entire body was out of the water. He looked ahead and enhanced his hearing. Still no sounds. That seemed like a good sign. No more waiting with guesses: this time, more action.

Starscream took a slow pace with his walking speed. After a while, his steps became bigger and faster. Faster and faster. He then saw light ahead of him. _Bright_ light. Another good sign. He came closer towards the light, climbed up the slope, and was exposed to…

A gorgeous sight.

A giant, bright blue sky, containing few but very fluffy clouds.

He was…he was safe!

For now, at least.

* * *

_**8**__**th**__** Cycle – dusk**_

Starscream stared off into the endless horizon in front of him, watching the bright solar star progressively falling before his optics. He lied down in the sand on the ocean shore torso up to see the spectacle in front of him. Not even on Cyberton did he witness such an incredible sight to behold. The star that makes up for the solar-cycle's light on the Seeker's home planet didn't achieve the amounts of luster that Earth's had. That was a plus side to being stuck here.

Stuck seemed to be too harsh of a word in his case. The more appropriate term here would be… inconveniently positioned.

Not to mention there were also other great views to find here, such as vibrant settings and immense highlands. Cybertron had a few too, such as structures that make even the tallest of Earth's skyscrapers look like measly miniscule models. However, ever since the war began, the home planet took a turn for the worst visual-wise, causing the most prominent landmarks to be completely shattered in a matter of kliks.

The only problem was that Starscream couldn't even remember one detail:

Why are we fighting to begin with?

This was no little matter; this was a question that borders on the issues of life and death. Greatly.

Thinking about this one simple idea cause Starscream to recollect his reason on why he joined the Decepticons ranks and entered the war. For the most part, it was mostly for the central notion of power. The Seeker loved to have power. And who was to say not? After all, it was common desire among the average Seeker. Power… and principles. Mostly the first one.

Because of their natural instincts, Seekers would often try to put themselves in a state of power, whether the position comes naturally or forcefully. Sometimes their desires are met with either the simple sharing of a bond with a beloved sparkmate, the given position of government or commanding ranks, or, after resorting to desperation, the more contrived system of destruction and anarchy. Choices 1 and 2 combined would greatly satisfied a Seeker's unfulfilled void with no troubles. But anything linked with choice 3, including choice 3 itself, could prove threatening.

While power alone was substantial, it was useless without a set of principles. Seekers needed to have values and ideologies to back up their power. It was a sort of way to justify their positions of authority should anyone question their acts of responsibility; it helped to make them look either high and mighty or robust and honorable. Of course, it wasn't required to strengthen the bonds with a sparkmate, but it did benefit a little with the process of finding one, as femmes usually fall for mechs who were dominant and protective.

Starscream's own principles, evidently, consisted of anarchistic power.

He was first introduced to the Decepticons through none other than Megatron. The warlord's philosophies and ideologies appealed greatly to the Seeker. At the time, he was only just out of mechlinghood, and began forming his own beliefs, so he didn't have much to work with. Yet it was the idea of martial command that caught his optics and receptors alike. He joined the ranks and stayed under command of Megatron, and, for numerous vorns, grew a kind of sire-creation connection with the warlord. He was even told by the leader himself that, should he fall, the Seeker would be given the main title.

However, something reformed in the warlord: something that took a turn for the worse.

Unfortunately, even for the Second-In-Command, the most trusted and advised personnel of the Decepticon ranks, Megatron never indicated the slightest reason of why his antipathy started in the first place. It just sort of came and stayed. Sure, he was still fighting for domination, but at the very least he still cared for his own troops, low or high-ranking, and would always acclaim the most reliable of soldiers. At some point, though, Megatron's attitude changed at best to a state to where he didn't even give a slag about even the most essential of his subordinates' needs. In almost any case, if anybody came back to Megatron with empty servos and news of a failed assignment, they'd be rewarded with a cannon-shot to the face; it was usually their last 'reward', to say the least.

Needless to specify, Starscream was on the receiving end of the 'reward' about 60 to 70 percent of the time.

He, of course, had the highest survival probability above all other Decepticons.

It was the accolade that he was thankful for the best. Mainly because of every nearly-fatal happenstance he had with the Autobots. Although, he could count out the previous encounter.

The worst part of Megatron's was not just his disdain for his subordinates, but the fact that, along with his change, he made one everlasting decree for every soldier: to detach oneself from any emotional or sentimental ties, such as kin or sparkmates. This was not to be taken lightly, as Megatron believed that any type of affection for any other living being would prove to be very distressing should they die during the war. Which would affect any said troop and cause lack of focus on war responsibilities due to moping around over losses of loved ones.

Starscream, honestly, could see his point. Though putting on a vow of no sparkbonding was much harder than it sounded.

He always longed for the moment when the war finally finished, and he would be able to go back to Cybertron, where he'd arrive home to reconcile with his sparkmate and creations, proud to hold the heritage that he so tenaciously worked so had on for what would seem like an eternity.

That wish had long past, ever since the devastation of the homeplanet centuries ago.

It was never going to be. The planet was now entirely uninhabitable.

Because of this cursed and damned war.

Because of a revolution.

Because of…

…Of…

…_Megatron_.

…Of course.

Why didn't he see it before?

The entire catastrophe of sheer destruction and disarray was caused by the will of one mech.

Two mechs.

He forgot all about Optimus Prime himself.

What was worse than a mech who promised a new future through chaos and damage? A mech who promised to bring _order_ and _peace_ while causing chaos and damage himself in the process.

If Optimus had wanted to bring a true end to this war, he would have already done it eons ago. He was all words and little action. He believed in defending the lives of other species from the so-called evil that was his own species! The fool! He would dare to attack his own kind simply because his kind doesn't bend to his will!?

Starscream stopped himself from thinking for a moment, burying his heels deep into the warm embrace of the sand.

_Attacking one's own kind simply because the kind does not bend to the betrayer's will?_

Wait a nano-klik.

If that was the case…

…then how does that statement differ in Megatron's case?

Starscream's face contorted from calm to furious in a matter of moments.

_The hypocrite!_

Megatron had disparaged Optimus as a figure of fraudulence and imposture, citing that the Prime exploits his powers to bring down disorder onto governance and misuses the fallacious assets of his followers. All in those exact words. He also appealed to Starscream by saying that the Prime was the central source of the war's continuance, and by exterminating his spark for good, there would be room for a truly worthy Prime. Of course, Megatron subjugated the term to make it sound like the Seeker would have a shot at the title. In actuality, the warlord believed it to be himself and himself alone.

_The slagging glitch!_

Starscream came back to reality when his servos clenched into fists, which were grabbing some of the grains of golden powder that he was sitting down on. It was good timing when he heard a faint sound somwhere in the distance. He looked up and saw an unsurprising sight in the sky: some fighter jets flying in a V-shaped form heading east.

However, one distinction from the jets set them apart from other aircrafts that he has seen.

They looked…purple.

Purple.

Like an Eradicon troop from the Nemesis.

Hold on…

…they _are_ Eradicons!

The resemblances were unmistakable!

They looked as if they were heading off onto another mission, or they were just coming back from one. Either way…

…They will easily lead the Seeker to Megatron.


	12. XI: Radical Notion

**Apologies for the delay. But instead of procrastination, I can honestly say that I had a very busy week. No matter. Anyways, this is probably the chapter I've worked the hardest on so far. It holds one of the biggest plots of the story, so as you could imagine, I need time to think all of the plotlines over. Another shoutout to Darkest Nightmare's Dread for looking over the drafts, and still the many more to come. Your help is always greatly appreciated, sir.**

**The chapter title was literally a last-second ordeal, but I managed to come up with one: _Radical Notion_ by Hans Zimmer (from the Inception soundtrack).**

**This story overall had also just broken the 7000 view barrier last week. Thanks for all the wonderful and faithful readers out there who keep on reading! I'm so grateful for every single one of you! Again, thanks ever so much!**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_Radical Notion_

Starscream managed to catch up with the squadron and trailed far enough to where he wouldn't be noticed, but not too far to where he could lose sight of them. Surprisingly, the eradicons didn't take long getting to their destination. And of course, as the Seeker reluctantly predicted, it was the Nemesis, which was currently flying right on the border between the atmosphere of earth and the empty vacuum of space. Nonetheless, there was no doubt that Megatron would be aboard his own vessel.

The squadron of flyers flew up and over the Nemesis and slowly descended towards the landing strip on top of the warship, although they didn't land on it. Instead, they headed into the hanger entrance, which promptly opened its pod bay doors. Starscream sped up right behind the troops and saw them glide inside and transform into their bipedal forms while already halfway down the adjoining hall.

The door was starting to shut quickly, all of the sudden. Thankfully, the Seeker made it through just in the nick of time. He casually brought himself to a halt and hovered for a nano-klik, simply gathering his thoughts.

He couldn't believe it either: he abandoned his post as a Decepticon just to put himself right back into their fortress.

Except this time, it wasn't by force or by incarceration. He willingly came back strictly for info.

It was sort of a good thing.

Hopefully.

Within moments, the Seeker changed to his regular mode and straightened himself up. '_What to do, what to do…'_ he thought.

One thing was for sure: he couldn't expose himself to any high-ranking Cons, like Soundwave. The eradicons, however, might be a different story.

He'll just have to wing it.

* * *

The hallway that joined with the hangar bay felt much longer than Starscream remembered it to be. And though it had been a while since the last time he was on the Nemesis, it hadn't been too long. The Seeker was sort of hoping that he could forget all about the wretched memories of his past alliance. Sadly, though, it was not meant to be.

Then again, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Too be rid of the memories that he held as during his cycles as a Decepticon, both good and bad. That was _if_ he had any good memories in the first place.

It took the Seeker 2 kliks before he came across the first junction in the hall, splitting into two hallways: one straight ahead, the other to the right. He was still extremely cautious at this point, so he decided to inch up near the edge of the convex to the right and sneak a peek around the corner. Good call.

Because around the right corner, a dozen steps away from Starscream to the left of the hall, stood two Eradicons.

They appeared to be knee-deep in what looked like futile banter, while apparently guarding the closed chamber right next to them. Whatever they were discussing, the two looked sidetracked in whatever the scrap they were talking about. Starscream stayed where he was, peeking around the corner, and began deciding whether or not to take this chance to slip by the drones and go down the other adjacent hallway. Unfortunately, his unresolved decision was diverted when he heard the sound of blasters charging their power.

The Seeker looked back down the right hallway and saw that the drones had spotted him.

Well, scrap.

"Starscream!"

He suddenly recalled Megatron's words of ruthlessness to Soundwave the cycle he overheard them before leaving the location of Starscream's temporary base:

"_**That treacherous Seeker better bring me back something of great use to me if he ever decides to show his face on the Nemesis ever again!"**_

Starscream did not have anything on servo. In this case, he was royally fragged. Unless these troops weren't told about it should Megatron forget to address every last individual on of them. In which case, the Seeker could fool them into thinking he was willingly allowed back into their ranks. Highly unlikely, as any Eradicon who abandoned Megatron's rule of digit, whether or not they were informed of it, would be put down like a rabid turbo fox. But he decided to give it a try, anyways. He put his servos steadily behind his back and walked up to them whilst keeping a straight posture.

"Excuse me, but that's _Commander_ Starscream to you two."

As the Seeker stopped right in front of the pair of lowly guards, they both looked at each other with rather confused looks behind their visors. The right-side guard turned back to Starscream and said, "We don't understand…"

"Surely not," the former SIC spoke in an surprisingly-false smug tone. It would sound normal according to the Vehicons. "But I assure you…I've already spoken with Lord Megatron- rather belligerently, to be honest- and have convinced him to give me my position as his Second-In-Command."

The Vehicons still kept their blasters aimed at Starscream, showing not even the tiniest indicator of lowering them any klik soon. They obviously weren't buying his fabrication.

The left guard had his turn to talk. "So you are saying that Lord Megatron demoted Airachnid from her current position?"

Starscream's servos curled in fury the nano-klik he heard the mention of that insect freak. He couldn't believe his receptors. _'She abandoned me, one of the Decepticons' most important figures, to be left under captivity of the Autobots, and __**she**__ gets __**MY**__ POSITION!? THE GLITCH!'_

The Seeker didn't know whether the blaspheme was directed at Airachnid or Megatron.

In this situation, it could be directed at the both of them.

"I am absolutely positive," he replied. "She had been reduced back to humble sentry duty." He did his best to sugar-coat

The two Vehicons looked at each other once again and took the time to let the current statement sink in. A few nano-kliks later, they made up their minds. The right guard told it to the Seeker straight.

"We were never informed of your return. Only of the news that Megatron wanted you brought into custody should you ever come back."

The plan was inevitably a failure. At least Starscream thought so, until the left guard took a step and spoke. Hopefully, he believed his case instead.

"If what you say _is _true…then want to hear it from our leader himself."

Well, it was official: the Seeker was really up slag-cove this time. He was more focused on trying to find his former leader, but never really planned on what to do _when _he found him.

He speedily formed another plan of escaping the guards. It'd be simple, but, if done right, also effective.

"Very well," he said. Then proceeded to ask, "Where is our master currently residing?"

Starscream saw the flaw in the question, as he _should _know where Megatron was right now. Fortunately, they seemed to buy the fib, as the right guard faced the long end of the hall and pointed a digit in that direction. Perfect.

"Lord Megatron should be back in the scie-"

His sentence was cut short when the Seeker striked the back his helm with the palm of his servo, catching him totally by surprise. The second Vehicon had no clue what to do, as he was caught by surprise as well. He quickly gathered his thoughts into actions and pointed his blaster at the Seeker, ready to fire. However, the moment after the first Con was struck, Starscream turned his helm to the other guard and kicked his heels into the underside of the blaster, causing the Con's entire arm to fly up. He then grabbed the Vehicon's shoulder with his sharps claws and slammed his entire body against the wall, rendering him unconscious within moments.

Starscream straightened back up from his defensive stance and looked down at the knocked-out bodies of the two Vehicons. They always looked pathetic in general, but it was greatly enhanced when they were unconscious or recharging on the job.

The Seeker looked down the hallway that one of the guards pointed down to when he mentioned he was looking for Megatron. Good…because that was the last place he wanted to be right now.

* * *

During the about-ten kliks of wandering the Nemesis' halls, Starscream came across no other guards or senior officers, thank Primus. The Seeker had no intention of personally encountering his former collaborators, since he now knew that Megatron's orders to capture the former SIC were still in effect . However, that didn't necessarily mean he couldn't sneak around their base and find out what they were currently up to.

Since he didn't want to get caught or rouse suspicion amongst the Nemesis crew, Starscream dragged the unconscious bodies of the Vehicons into the room that they were guarding, which happened to be an armory containing dozens of advanced weapons and polished protoforms. They seemed to be more suited for the drones. Useless. The only thing is was good for was hiding the guards.

That _was_ until he remembered the entrance to the senior armory, which was located within the main armory itself. He recognized the spare protoforms for the high-ranking Decepticons: a small, black one, presumably for Airachnid; a deep purple/indigo for Soundwave; bulky cobalt, which could only be Breakdown; and finally gaudy dark red, which only Knockout would be smug enough to wear. There wasn't one for Megatron himself. Starscream assumed that the warlord kept his armor hidden in his own berthroom, to make sure that no harm comes to it whatsoever.

If he could, the Seeker would sneak into his former leader's quarters and blow up his most prized possessions as a warning from Starscream himself. The problem was the lack of grenades in his inventory. Not to mention it was virtually impossible to break into Megatron's security defenses.

And of course, there was the probability of being caught by the leader himself, which would highly result in the Seeker's imminent termination.

Not a good idea.

While traveling down the lengthy corridors, Starscream's audio receptors picked up a high frequency noise in the distance. It was a familiar noise. All-to-familiar, to be exact. He inched closer to the side of the entrance and squeezed himself into the crease right next to it. Nobody was coming from either direction, so he peeked his helm out of the dark and carefully looked into the chamber.

It was the infirmary, as Starscream expected, and that voice was unmistakable: Knockout.

"Your wounds have mended quite smoothly since two cycles ago. Need I say that you are exaggerating this incident a bit too much."

He heard another too familiar voice, though this one made the Seeker made to the core.

The wretched spider-femme herself.

"You can't be too careful when it comes to battle injuries. Especially when it is a member of your own faction."

"Oh come now, Airachnid," Knockout said. "You knew exactly how dangerous Soundwave could be the moment you laid optics upon him. You know: the silent-but-deadly type."

Starscream suddenly heard a short, small giggle from the red medic. The Seeker wasn't sure why; he wasn't familiar with the term in a humorous sense. He also heard a sigh of ire from the femme.

Knockout continued his statement. "Plus, you know now that he can make a complete and utter fool out of anyone. First with you, when you tried to take over Megatron's position of leadership when he left post and _you_ foolishly made the assumption that he'd never return…"

'_Airachnid actually tried to do that!?'_ Starscream thought. She was a much bigger fool than he believed. Soundwave was one of Megatron's most trusted soldiers, and _always_ obliged to his master's very needs, no matter how absurd. Once, a mid-ranking troop tried to assassinate the warlord up and front. He ended up getting a blaster shot to the helm, courtesy of Soundwave.

"…and then he made a fool out of Arcee, when she infiltrated the Nemesis single-handedly, and he sent a one-way groundbridge straight of the ship."

Correction: There was someone even more foolish than Airachnid. Seriously, the Autobot femme solely tried to take down a Decepticon warship without assistance!? Unless she just happened to sneak aboard, in which case, she failed miserably. Still, the Seeker had to admire the femme's bold and daring attempt to do so. It was irrational, yes, but nonetheless, it was a valiant effort.

Which brought up one more question to mind: why _did_ she try to board the Nemesis alone?

If she knew that it was indisputably detrimental to take an entire horde of enemies head on, then why did she try it in the first place? Even the Seeker knew that it was suicidal, given his fair share of infiltration missions. It just didn't add up.

"Ah yes. Arcee," Airachnid said. "I forgot all about that pitiful blue Autobot. Weak enough to have one of her own partners to be terminated."

"Twice," Knockout correct. "She had _two _of her partners killed."

"Oh…right…" Airachnid replied. Starscream couldn't help but detect the slightest falter in the spider's voice. He wasn't able to tell if it was more because of ire or pity. She continued, "I almost completely forgot about the Seeker's extermination count. He kept bragging on and on about how he vanquished Cliffjumper."

The Seeker also couldn't help but grin smugly at the last comment.

However, his joy was thwarted by a low chuckle from Airachnid as she went on. "Of course, he said that he extinguished the Bot's spark when he was at his most vulnerable state. The Seeker didn't even put up a fair fight again his captive."

Knockout stopped his scanning checks on the femme and looked dead center into her optics. "Might I point out that you made the same exact statement when you bragged on and on about Tailgate?"

Starscream's optics widened at his own realization. Was Knockout…defending him?

No. Possibly not. While he was under rule, Starscream had offered the medic with the position of his SIC in exchange for Megatron's verdict for imminent termination. Aside from that, when the warlord returned to power, the Seeker and medic had no attempt to converse with one another. The Seeker even committed the leading act of embarrassment to the medic by grazing his finish in front of every soldier. Even Breakdown, the medic's assistant. Then again, he was easily forgiven not long afterwards. Why was that?

Maybe Starscream's appeal with a position of higher power grabbed Knockout's attention and he still considers the offer even though the odds of overcoming Megatron have radically decreased.

Maybe Knockout still had the slightest extent of respect for the Seeker.

Or maybe the medic despises the predator as much as he does.

Either guess would work in this case.

Airachnid had paused only for not even a nano-klik before she huffed and turned her head to face away from the medic. Luckily, Starscream left out the part where he had the pitiless drones fetch the Autobot for him. Great Primus, he'd never hear the end of it from the femme. Sure it was an unfair advantage, but nevertheless, it led to a kill.

"Might I ask how many pathetic sparks _you've_ killed, Knockout?" Airachnid asked conceitedly. Unbelievable. Now she was trying to burden her indignity on somebody else. How pitiful.

"My extermination count may be substantially low, but that doesn't matter to me," Knockout answered. "As long as I maintain my medical practices in this room, saving the lives of our fellow comrades, that means I'm playing my part in the Decepticon cause; _I'm_ making a difference for our team. And what have _you_ done with your cause, lately?"

"Excuse me, but my predatory skills have proved to be an important asset to the war."

"For what?" Knockout scorned. "All you've done for us is lose one of our best-ranking officers to the enemy and have yourself publically humiliated by Soundwave in an attempt to take over Megatron's leadership. For all I know, half the eradicons on this very ship have proved more vital to our master than you."

Starscream couldn't believe all the badmouthing he was hearing from the red medic. He was playing with pyrotechnics here. Airachnid was the last being anyone would ever want to piss off.

"Plus, the drones come into my facilities with bigger injuries, little paranoia, and a _lot_ less complaints than what you've brought to me."

_Ooh, buuuuuuurrrrrn_.

The next sound Starscream expected to hear in the infirmary was the slashing of long, slender talons eviscerating through deep metal.

However, nothing came.

Instead, all the Seeker saw from the femme was a face full of wrath and anger while she l. After a nano-klik, she spoke. "I have half a mind to slay you right where you stand if you keep pestering me with that obnoxious attitude!"

Knockout waved a digit in the air. "Uh-uh-uh…if you killed me, the Decepticons would surely lose without my medical assistance, and Megatron would no doubt slay _your_ spark."

His tone couldn't be more mocking in that teasing manner of his. He was also producing a slag-eating grin to go with that tone. Clearly this medic knew exactly how to play his words.

'_Smart medic,'_ Starscream thought to himself. His own respect for Knockout increased times ten. And all Airachnid could do after the medic scanned her down one last time was to keep silent.

_Knockout: 1_

_Airachnid: 0_

After the scan was complete, Knockout gave his final prognosis. "Just for your curiosity, and my amusement, your vital scanners are normally fluctuating, you have no infections in your energon levels, and, once again, your wound is entirely healed. I swear to Primus, you have absolutely no problems with paranoia, yet now when it comes to the inaudible Third-In-Command, suddenly your skepticism level flows off the charts!"

Airachnid sneered an irritated grunt at the remark. "The TIC and I had a little…quarrel in the past." She pulled her arm away from Knockout when he reached over to try and examine it. Instead, he huffed and began walking to the doorway. "I would greatly prefer that we not discuss it now or _ever_."

All of a sudden, the medic stopped right at the pede of the entry. His left servo was grasping the side of it, _right_ next to the crevice Starscream was hiding himself in. The digits were _inches_ from his face. The Seeker did everything in his spark not to make a sound.

Knockout turned his helm around and looked dead center into the femme's optics, his face carrying a cold, curious expression. "…You're meaning to tell me that you… …had a _thing_ for Megatron's most loyal servant?"

Airachnid's spark spiraled out of control at the allegation. "How dare you make such a claim!"

The Aston Martin gave quite possibly the loudest laugh the Seeker ha ever heard come out of him. "I _knew_ it!" He yelled. Then he spoke in a softer but mocking voice. "Tell me now…did you ever get to make 'face with that? I'm sure he would ha-"

His sentence was cut short when the femme took the medic's scanning tool and threw it straight at his pure red chassis. A giant _clank!_ came from the force of it being thrown, and a second one followed when it hit the floor. Starscream could only assume that it ruined Knockout's finish, which, undoubtedly, would lead to pure rage from the medic. However, all that came out of him was a death-threatening grunt followed by a low, long sigh.

"Now _I_ have half a mind to kill _you_ where you stand," Knockout said through gritted dentas. "But, nevertheless, I know that it's a foolish idea, as Megatron would have _my_ spark for that." With that said, he began to turn around again, but Airachnid interjected.

"Let me ask you something, Knockout…you _do_ favor a position of higher command here with the Decepticons. Don't you?"

This stopped the red mech right in his tracks, but he made no move to look back at the femme.

"Then why don't you instead join me in a plot to overthrow Megatron? You know that with our combined skills- my strength and cunning, and your wit and intelligence- we could no doubt be

unstoppable together. Wouldn't you agree?"

Starscream saw the medic take a deep, silent exhale, and turned his helm around, but not his body.

"To tell you the truth…not too long ago, I was offered the same proposition by another Con… …the only problem is, you abandoned him just about deca-cycle ago."

Harsh optics stared back at Knockout. But he wasn't finished yet.

"And, to tell you the truth, I would still very much take _his_ offer over yours."

With that said, he took a right turn out of the infirmary and walked away, leaving the new SIC speechless. After a few long moments, she decided to follow the medic in the same direction.

Deep in the shadow of the left hollow next to the door, the Seeker gave an appreciative smile.

* * *

There was not much to find on the Nemesis that came to the interest of Starscream, save for the ego boost he overheard from his ex-subordinate. He explored about a dozen rooms of the ship's near-hundred, but, much to his disappointment, nothing proved useful to the Seeker's current understanding of the Decepticons' stratagems. By now, something had to have happened. At least _something_.

Most of the chambers on the ships were barracks, gyms, and washracks for all the Eradicons. It's sad how the most common and idle of drones take up most of the ship's rooms for their specific needs. No small matter, really: there aren't many washracks for the drones to use (the ratio of racks to drones were 10 to 1), so they'd usually fight over who gets to go first. Over 80% of the disputes ended in bloodshed. 10% of those would result in an execution. And even the victors had to clean up their own messes.

The medic's lab, which was now occupied by Knockout, wouldn't possibly contain anything to the interest of the Seeker. He's seen enough experiments from the Aston to know that he would not accomplish any breakthrough discoveries. Unless there was more to him than met the optic.

Possibly not.

Starscream's quarters were out of the question, as he assumed that it was given to Airachnid in association with her promotion to his rank. When he passed by, thankfully, she wasn't there. It wouldn't matter whether or not she was there if he snuck in, because the femme would be back in a matter of kliks, resulting in the Seeker's imminent termination. Better safe than sorry.

He kept on walking and walking, and still no evidence to be found. Not the slightest indicator of future tactics or plans. He wasn't going to leave without _something_. There _must_ be something left aboard the ship.

_Something_.

The last word kept running through Starscream's mind like a moon orbiting its planet.

Until suddenly, his mind was thwarted by another familiar sound. A voice, far off in the distance. It was coming near the briefing room. The Seeker slowed down his pace and halted at the corner of the door, in order to hear the voice better. It was much deeper than the voice of the narcissistic surgeon. More threatening as well.

Oh, Pit.

When he peered his optic from the side, of course, the first sight was that of the back of the giant warlord himself. His servos were interlocking behind his back, with his fusion cannon exposed on the right one. The posture was stiff, as it usually was.

"I take it you got this with no complications, Soundwave?" Megatron asked

He began walking in the left direction and around the table in the middle of the room. On the other side, which cleared when the warlord moved out of the way, stood the Third-In-Command, giving a confirming nod.

It was just then that Starscream noticed something on the table: a small container of some sorts.

"Good," Megatron said. "No disruptions means more time. And time is of the essence now."

He stopped right next to the TIC and stared at the box. Soundwave gazed at it as well.

"I must first admit something, Soundwave: you weren't the first mech that I would've come to for this particular situation. But ever since the premature demise of the instigator of the project, and since I could never bring myself to trust rest of my inadequate subordinates, you are the only one that I am able to come to. However, I trust in your extraordinary quantity of knowledge that you might be able to tap into this sort of biotic technology."

Biotic technology? The frag was that sort of nonsense? Sure, every Cybertronian had electrical energy stemming from their figures, to which other extraterrestrial species would likely mistake as automated, unthinking CPUs. But they still consisted of souls [sparks, in this case] and mortal anatomy, a biological perception. To talk of 'biotic technology' could only sound like the outset of cloning. But even then, it wouldn't make any sense at all: why would Megatron want to do with cloning? It would be impossible to do without actual functional lifeforms, which was a tremendously rare thing to find or build on Earth. Starscream omitted that unlikely possibility; that left no other theories.

It was a watch-and-learn alternative at this point.

Soundwave's tentacle-like arms reached out and opened the lid of the container. Unfortunately, it was out of Starscream's pivotal range, so he couldn't see what the enigma was. Megatron leaned in and gazed down into the open box.

"It is still quite intact…even with the destruction of it's surrounding location, it still managed to keep itself unsoiled."

He turned back to his accomplice and said, "I want it to be thoroughly examined and researched as quick as possible. Unfortunately, with the demise of our past leading scientist and his records, it is up to you to break into it yourself…metaphorically speaking, of course."

Something that can be broken into figuratively? Sounds like a solid object containing important information from a microchip.

So it's not anything to do with cloning. Just like Starscream presumed.

Megatron carefully grabbed the open box with delicate servos and grinned wickedly. "Hehehe… And who knows? With our latest addition to the Decepticon ranks- if he manages to hack the encryptions like he said he would- we might be able to convince him to help you with speeding up the decryption process of this assignment."

Wait, _wait wait_… …latest addition!?

The Seeker had left his faction for not even a deca-cycle, and already all of this _slag_ happened in that span of time!?

But…but… …_who_ could've possibly come to this planet that survived the war? Not too many soldiers had lived when they dispersed from the homeworld in order to explore other galaxies. At least none of true worth.

Megatron closed the container and slid it back onto the table, this time facing Starscream's view. The warlord walked over to the mainframe at the other end of the room, servos returned to his backside. "We've got very little time to act, so I critically suggest that you carry on wi-"

::Lord Megatron!::

Suddenly, the mainframe's screen popped up with a Vehicon standing in plain sight. He looked rather alarmed for a drone's usual personality (which, in this case, was bland).

Megatron looked sternly at the Vehicon in view and spoke. "Must you interrupt me at my most desperate time of need!?"

::Please, sir! This is severely urgent! Two of our guards had been found knocked unconscious in the ship's armory! We are led to believe that someone might've hijacked the ship!::

He waited for a response. None came.

::Lord Megatron?::

The leader slowly turned his helm into the direction of the entrance. His optics were blazing with sheer rage and intensity. He also showed a deep scowl to match with the intensity. Together, the optics and frown grew stronger and stronger.

"_The fragger!"_

That was all that came out of his mouth, in a deep and low, but harsh whisper, big enough for the Seeker to hear.

He turned back to the screen with the Vehicon, currently awaiting orders. "Gather all the ship's security recordings from today and transmit them to Soundwave!"

::Yes, Lord Megatron!::

The transmission kept running, but the drone quickly began to click his digits on the keyboard below him. While this was going on, Megatron looked back at his TIC.

"You can fast forward through the security recordings the fastest, Soundwave. See to it that my contentions are true."

Before Starscream could process it, Megatron literally _sprinted_ towards the direction of the exit. The Seeker freaked and retracted himself from his glancing position, hiding in the pitch black shadows. The pedesteps became louder and louder until they flew right past him, along with the rapid shimmer of silver that came with the sounds. He saw his former master dash to the left and run down the hallway.

'_What a fragging close call'_, Starscream thought.

He decided to take another risk and look back into the room. Luckily, Soundwave was now staring at the mainframe. He unleashed his tentacles which slithered their way up the systems and into the control panels, and plugged them into them into the mainframe.

He looked completely focused. Perhaps too focused. In the reflection of the display, there were several screens that showed up on the TIC's blank face. No doubt: he was entirely immersed.

Another risk sprang to the Seeker's mind. Unlike the others… …this one was truly perilous.

Starscream's optics were focused on the little black box sitting alone on top of the table. It was completely unguarded, or at least he thought so.

Instinct hit Starscream like a meteor. Before he knew it, he himself sprinted straight into the room and towards the table. The box was still unlocked, so he quickly flipped it open and saw what enigma his optics beheld.

A chip.

A microchip to be precise. It was very small and elusive. It looked like nothing truly of value.

But if the warlord himself wanted to keep it out of harm's way, then surely it meant _something_.

Without hesitation, the Seeker grabbed the microchip, partially opened up his chestplate, and stuffed it inside a small but secure crevice between some pieces of wiring. He closed it back up, as well as the container, and got the scrap out of the room, making a dash for the right direction of the hallway, desperate to avoid the unnerving rage of his former master.

He needed to get out before it was too late. This mission was compromised now. At least the Seeker now knew that his search wouldn't have ended in vain.

Up ahead, he saw the shadows of some unaware Vehicon guards closing in from around the corner. He made the next right he could to steer clear of unwanted attention.

Time was running out. He could transform and fly out of the ship, but that would risk Megatron finding him, pursuing him, then executing him. At this point, all he could was hide.

The next right turn lead to a room of the Nemesis that contained temporarily unused terminals for extra work. Nobody would think to look there.

Perfect.

Starscream made his choice and dashed right up to the door. It was closed, as expected, and opened right up when he reached its proximity. It closed up when he got inside.

Finally. We was free for now.

Expect… …something was different.

The mainframes, which were usually idle in this room… …were functioning bright as a solar cycle.

As if that was unsettling enough, it turned out he wasn't alone in there after all.

A tall, slender and bulky figure stood right in front of the terminals. His attention was diverted when the Seeker entered the room, and he turned his entire body to face the distraction before him.

Then it clicked to Starscream's mind: the color scheme, the design, the face.

_No…it was impossible. What could __**he**__ possibly be doing here!?_

He had no doubt who he had just ran across.

Optimus Prime.

* * *

**Aaaaaaand cliffhanger. The next chapter will produce some familiar scenes from the show, as well as the next few, with some minor twists. And since I got one of the biggest/most important parts of the story out of the way, the next ones will come hopefully faster.**

**Now if you'll excuse, I eagerly await the TFP series finale. In the meantime, reviews always help!**


	13. XII: People Lie All The Time

_**EDIT (8/7/13): HOLY SCRAP! 8400 views already!? Primus, that is more than I could possibly handle! And to think that only just last week, I broke the 7000-view barrier. Boy, perhaps faith has been restored to the StarXCee following. :) Not to mention other faithful readers, as well.**_

**Note: This chapter may feel a bit rushed, but compared to the 2-week delays I've had in between each few chapters of the last few ones, I'm quite glad that I got this one finished through one-and-a-half week's time. **

**Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - _People Lie All The Time_**

**_And as usual, I big thanks to Dark Nightmare's Dread for the insight. If you [- the author] are reading this, expect more gratitude in the future.__ :)_**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_People Lie All The Time_

No.

No…

…How the frag did _he_ get in here!?

It was virtually impossible to sneak aboard the Nemesis without knowing its whereabouts. Even Starscream had to admit that his finding the warship was just a major fluke. Plus the ineptitude of the Eradicon flight squadron's peripheral vision gave him an edge.

But… …this was an Autobot! And not just a mere soldier or two, but–

"Optimus Prime!"

The words slipped out of the Seeker's glossa without him even knowing it. He still held his arm cannons in the direction of the other mech.

"H–h–how did you get in here?!" He asked.

When Starscream came to his senses, he noticed something odd about the Prime: he wasn't pointing his blasters back at the Seeker.

In fact, if anything… he held a look of shock on his face.

An expression that Starscream had never seen from the Prime himself that didn't concern the death of one his soldiers.

"I do not understand."

The sentence caught Starscream off-guard.

"What is there to understand?" Starscream asked gruffly, his missiles still aimed and the other.

Optimus' face changed to another expression that the Seeker seldom saw as well: sadness. He spoke again. "I do not hold enough intelligence or expertise to be a Prime."

'_He must be brain-dead'_, Starscream thought. _'That would account for the words he just spoke, and the fact that, oh, say… __**he snuck aboard the fragging Decepticon warship!?**__'_

Still, the two mechs were curious as to what they are thinking right now, which meant that Optimus was very much sentient and in control of himself. Starscream's expression changed to about the same as Optimus'. The Prime showed no sign of harming him. Odd… usually, he was very firm when he was around Starscream, and would just up and confront the Seeker himself.

"Why are you here, Optimus?" Starscream asked cautiously

The Prime held a short pause as he stared at the Seeker, obviously observing him, and then repeated, "I do not understand."

Maybe he _is_ brain-dead? Iterating the same phrase makes it seem so.

"…You are Starscream, are you not?"

The question rendered him off-guard a second time.

'_H–he doesn't even remember who I am? Was I gone THAT long!?'_

It seemed insane to do what he intended to do next, but he decided yes on it: the Seeker lowered both his arms and deactivated the missiles. He had just re-entered Decepticon territory and caused a stint of commotion. He wasn't about to start another one. Not after Optimus' questionable inquiry.

"…Er– yes, that is correct", Starscream obliged.

Optimus' faced showed even more curiosity.

"…Megatronus told me that you were dead."

That specific question, instead of catching him unaware a third time, caused the Seeker to emit a strong emotion of detestation among his systems. Looks like Megatron had no more faith in his former Second-In-Command anymore. Nevertheless, he responded, "He might think of me dead, but I assure you: I am far from expired."

Just then, Starscream realized the first word that the Prime spoke. Before he could reflect upon it, Optimus asked another questionable query. Only even more curious than the previous one.

"Why did you call me Optimus?"

Silence.

…

'_Something is not right here'_, the Seeker thought.

"Is there no other title you go by?" He asked dubiously. "Why are you uncertain of your namesake?"

"Because my name is Orion Pax."

…

It clicked just now…

…Orion Pax was the former designation of Optimus Prime, before he received the famous title he had now. Megatron also went by the name Megatronus at the same time period, before he omitted the end when he formed the Decepticon faction.

That meant…

…he lost his memory?

How was that even possible? Did Megatron successfully capture the Prime himself, extract all his memories, and retain the oldest memories before the war began?

That brand of technology had been lost for millennia! All that could remain of it had to have been destroyed when Cybertron's spark perished during the war!

"Is something wrong, Starscream?"

Starscream realized he had paused for nearly an entire klik, leaving his mindset and Optimus alone in the dust. He came back to his senses and answered.

"I'm fine."

Realization struck again. "You reminded me of someone long ago… he is a– er, _was_ a Prime. You both look identical to one another."

Optimus– or Orion, kept a face of puzzlement and…slight joy. Obviously, being compared to a Prime gave this persona a bit of an ego boost.

"I've always looked up to the Primes," Orion said. "However, I am unfamiliar with the one you speak of."

Perhaps cheating a bit wouldn't hurt so much here. After all, this isn't technically the Prime that Starscream was talking to at the moment. "He's a little… …notorious for his actions in war. In fact… …he's the one responsible for Cybertron's inevitable doom." He hoped this wouldn't arouse suspicion to Orion.

"I was led to believe that the one that caused the planets destruction was an Autobot named Ratchet."

Talk about brainwash.

The assumption made Starscream cackle out loud. Orion just looked at him with puzzling optics. Apparently, the Seeker needed to twist around the deceits a little. After he calmed down, he spoke again.

"You truly are being kept in the dark."

"I don't understand, Starscream."

"I wouldn't expect you to," the Seeker retorted. He half expected Orion to say that one more time. "I'll disclose what Megatron…–us…" He almost forgot to add. "…had failed to mention. True, it was this Ratchet that initiated the impending doom upon our home world.; but it was Optimus Prime himself that initiated the orders to do so."

"…The Prime did that himself!?" Optim– _Orion _raised his voice a tiny portion when he said that.

"Precisely," Starscream answered.

"So that mech is truly a monster indeed…"

Orion's face changed once more, but this time into an expression of pure despondency. His optics began to slowly wander off. Whether Starscream could believe it or not, he actually began to feel…sorry for the mech. It was that degrading.

He also caught sight of something beyond contempt and belief: on the Prime's shoulder pad, where the usual Autobot insignia was imprinted… …was replaced with a Decepticon symbol.

"I never knew that Primes could be so cold-sparked," the mech spoke, with a gloomy tone to match his appearance.

"Not all being can be perfect, Orion," Starscream said. Of course, he spoke in a way that made it sound like he himself was _not_ one of those mechs. But now his mind kept thinking of something else…some_one_ else.

"But I will admit, Orion Pax…" He paused shortly to gather his words. "…There is at least one mech I know who's known to be far _far_ worse."

The unaware Prime looked back at the Seeker. "Really? Who is it you speak of?"

"Believe it or not… …you are working for him."

Orion's face changed yet again. Into…bafflement. He nearly stumbled when he took a step away from Starscream.

"…N–no…" He spoke weakly. "…Megatronus is a trustworthy mech. W–w–why should I believe you, Starscream?"

Starscream sighed. It pained him to admit what he was going to say next.

"Because I used to say the same exact thing when I was in your position, Orion. Believe me…" He pointed to the Decepticon symbol on his chest. "…I know…"

The Seeker couldn't tell if he was getting through to the mech; his expression was hard to tell. All it took to answer his curiosity was when Orion looked at the insignia on his shoulder pad, touching it with a fragile servo. He looked back at Starscream and opened his mouth to say something.

Unfortunately, he never did.

Starscream was snapped back from his pseudo-reality by the sound of the doorway opening up behind him. He whipped his head around and saw three Vehicon guards with blasters pointed straight at him. Instinct took a hold of the Seeker as he frantically yelped and cowered behind the Prime in an attempt to shield himself.

"Starscream!" The right guard yelled. "Stand down!"

No. Not another near-termination experience. He wasn't going to let himself die at the servos of his former master.

"NEVER!"

He blared out the solitary term, rapidly converted himself into jet mode, and flew over the guards and out of the room. The sounds of blasters firing upon him toned down as he sped faster and further away from the guards. That was a close one.

As if fate wanted to frag around with Starscream a bit more, an Eradicon flyer flew around from a corner and began chasing him down. Thankfully, the flyer didn't seem to be the most accurate shooter in his class. Every shot whizzed past Starscream by mere inches.

As the flyer almost caught up to speed, the Seeker transformed mid-air and landed precisely on his pursuer. Before the flyer could comprehend his actions, Starscream unleashed his talons and tore into the other's systems. He pulled out his talons and ripped out a few rather important wires, causing the Eradicon to spiral out of control. The Seeker transformed back just in time and managed to regain his acceleration.

That was an even closer one.

Apparently, fate must've loathed what Starscream fabricated to the Prime, because now he was being pursued by _three_ Eradicon flyers. Just his luck. And in more thankfulness, their aiming wasn't quite the sharpest either.

The ship's hangar bay exit came into view; it was about a few long nano-kliks away. Just that short span of time was all that he needed. Little did he know, the closer he got to the exit, the more he realized that it was shut tight. Quickly, Starscream launched one of his few missiles at the airlock and hoped for a prosperous outcome.

It worked. The lock crumbled faster than a mech overdosed on high-grade. Starscream boosted his thrusters to maximum overdrive and raced towards the way of freedom.

Within moments, the Seeker felt the cold, stingy air of the night. Great Primus, it had only been a few number of joors and already he missed the feel of something of another world. Once he reached a certain point away from the Nemesis, Starscream slowed down and began to cruise through the sky, with the Earth not too far below.

He couldn't believe what had just happened: he just cheated possible termination… …_twice_. All over the course of 2 cycles. For every stroke of misfortune that struck him, it was countered with an equal stroke of good fortune.

Perhaps Primus was a generous entity, after all, for giving him favorable chances in highly improbable situations. Or it was just sheer dumb luck. Either way, Starscream hoped that this streak would continue forth.

And the craziest part was the fact that the second near-death experience involved the most dangerous being that the Seeker ever knew. Frankly, he came in looking for nothing, and he came out with something– that very thing being carried inside his torso. And apparently, it was something that was deemed vital to the warlord.

All the more reasons to keep it to himself, no matter how long it'll take to decipher.

'_The only time that Megatron tries to haul back his precious cargo will be by tarnished, lifeless servos!"_ Starscream thought haughtily.

_**BOOOOOOM!**_

He spoke sooner than he should have.

One of the Seeker's back thrusters had been shot at and caught fire, causing him to spiral out of control and lose altitude.

'_Scrap, Scrap. Scrap! SCRAAAAAAAP!'_ , was all that ran through his mind.

Soon, his thoughts turned into actions, and he began screaming aloud as the dizzying vision of the planet below came closer and closer to his view. A klik past, and he was dangerously closer than ever to the ground. He managed to angle himself slightly more horizontal to soften the possibly-fatal impact.

And just his luck, too: instead of the last incident in which Starscream had clear ground cover safe for crash-landing, the land below him in this situation was nothing but wooded area, dense with human vegetation that deemed hazardous to glide through. Or, in this case…crash through.

There was no chance in avoiding it. He decided to aim and hope for the best.

About ten nano-kliks to impact, the Seeker succeeded in bringing himself to a more safe position and speed. It wasn't going to help with the landing much, but it would ease the injuries a little less. The smashed thruster didn't help with easing the maneuvering.

_Five nano-kliks_. Oh, Primus in the Allspark… _Four_…I hope that you…_Three_…take it a bit more easy on me…_Two_…from here and now on-

_One._

Nothing ran through Starscream's mind during the impact. Not one thing. All of his cerebral thoughts were overpowered by physical discomfort all over his entire form, from his head to his heels. Pain. Agony. Torture. Anguish. Distress. Basically, those five words summed up the worst of the emotions that the Seeker felt right now. The rest were too mild to equate.

_**CRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH!**_

The sole sound blared into Starscream's audio receptors. Quite possibly, and easily, one of the loudest noises that he had ever heard in his existing lifecycle. More pain followed, although it was even worse than the other pain before that. This was more like a finishing pain. A climax, to put it.

Starscream almost incomprehensible vision progressively cleared and saw only thick, russet clouds of dust in front of him. Some of it got into his optics, and gave him another aching body part to go with everything else. All he did was shake it off and put himself into a sitting posture as his vision once again cleared. The dust clouds dissolved into thin air and revealed a gloomy, nightly glow from the planet's sole, orbiting moon.

The pain was just unbearable. It converted Starscream into an even bigger pathetic pile of scrap. He didn't even muster up the strength to move the slightest of limbs. It was that bad. And just when it couldn't get worse…

…The Seeker's optics began to waiver on and off. The relentless impact due to his being pursued caused his systems to grow faulty. Was _**this**_ really how it was supposed to end for him? Fate had fragged with him countless time…

…only to expire in the most pitiable way possible for him.

_Lights out…_

* * *

Optics flickered back on again, and a sharp light shined down on the poor Seeker. He expected it to be the Allspark, and he was forced to join.

When sight adjusted, it turned out to be the light of the glowing moon.

'_Oh, sweet Primus'_, Starscream thought. _'So it was not meant to be, yet!'_

Well, that now made _three_ experiences in two meta-cycles. A record, even for the Seeker himself.

He tried his best to move, but that didn't help in any way, shape, or form at all. Now, pain began searing in only one area now. The Seeker looked down and saw a horrid sight…

His left leg had become horrendously disfigured. The joint that connected his lower and higher thighs had split apart and twisted the bottom half about 100 degrees to the right. A tragic sight to behold. On top of that, it was leaking energon at an alarming rate.

Unbelievable. Un-fragging-believable.

It was mangled and shattered beyond repair.

Well, at least _his_ repairs, to be exact.

Starscream went to touch his wound with a delicate digit. Even with the slightest touch, it hurt like scrap. The worst part was that there was nothing in range that the Seeker could use to stop the trailing energon flow from getting any worse. Great… …stuck in the middle of uncharted, extraterrestrial territory with no help, no allies, and an injury to match the misery.

Well, scrap…

In a great deal of intolerance, the Seeker grasp his leg in an attempt to stop the pressure from getting any worse. Needless to say, it only made it even more bad. Starscream's spark began thumping harder and harder due to his stressing out over the pain of the wound. He whipped his helm back against the wall of the rock behind him, then began to take deeper and slower breathes to calm his nerves down.

"Be still, my beating spark," Starscream said to himself.

It seemed to work, as most of the stress from the leg disappeared altogether. It wasn't all gone, but it was much more bearable. Plus, the energon slowed down to match the tolerance of the stress. As this went on, Starscream's face altered from agony to abhorrence.

"This is all Megatron's fault," Starscream grumbled. "If he'd never let me take that treacherous glitch of a spider to the ship, she wouldn't have abandoned me, and Megatron wouldn't have gone through this entire ordeal!" He gasped at the pain of speaking and clenched his leg more.

'_You were the one who had enough ball bearings to sneak onto the Decepticon warship and raid their confidential findings.'_

Oh Pit…

"I _had_ to know what Megatron so desperately sought to reclaim and decipher," Starscream retorted back at his conscious, even though truth be told, he never even remembered it in the first place. "Not to mention that it was a prosperous quest."

'_It was. And?'_ The conscious paused momentarily. _'...Did you even figure out what it is, yet.'_

The Seeker paused in order to search for an answer. Sadly, his mind wasn't wrong.

"But, to be entirely fair," the Seeker began. "…I only _just_ got the contrivance not even a full joor ago. On top of that, I believe that I've completely thwarted Megatron's plans to extract possibly dangerous information now, did I?"

For the first time, the conscious actually hesitated to speak. Starscream might've just struck a rough mental chord with it. Finally, it spoke.

'…_I can't argue with you there, mech.'_

A somewhat smug grin ran across the Seeker's face at the comment.

'_I just can't believe that you were so foolish and rash enough to commit such a hasty act.'_

"Well, believe it!" Starscream said with a raised voice. Although that was a foolish mistake: the increase of volume on his voice made his vocal chords very sore, causing him to cough up a couple drops of energon. The crash-landing took a lot more damage on his chassis and systems than he thought.

The Seeker continued. "I just _had_ to what my former comrades were up to. It's been nearly a deca-cycle!"

'_Curiosity kills the turbofox, you know? Or have you forgotten that figure of speech in your cycles as a scientist?'_ The voice seemed rather dismayed by his actions.

"What can I say?" Starscream said. "I came; I searched; I found something. Just be glad that I made it out safe. And why should you care about where I go and what I want to do?"

'_Because your previous action should serve as a reminder of your irrationality.'_ The tone began to sound more assertive, with a hint of menace._ 'You think that by taking risks, you make yourself stronger. And that is acceptable. But there are risks that you begin to take that shows indications of foolishness rather than courage. Even to the point of a premature and unintended termination. Is that what you want?'_

The Seeker stopped dead in his own tracks.

Was this the case? Had he really stooped so low with his actions to the point that even his own mind is mocking him and giving him lifecycle lessons?

How degrading.

Starscream decided that it was best to keep quiet and hope that the voice would just go away.

Nothing…

The Seeker put on a half-smile in order to avoid any further soreness.

'_I got you there, didn't I?'_

Well, scrap.

"Oh Pit, will you just please let me be in peace right now? You're really starting to _piss me off_." The Seeker used great emphasis on the last three words in a deep, irritated voice.

Just like that, the voice stopped.

Another miracle of the meta-cycle.

For now, all Starscream could do was wait.

And wait…

…and wait…

…

Pain struck him again.

The Seeker looked down at the wound that he was applying pressure to. It didn't seem to be helping much now. Every other nano-klik, a drop would leak from the gash and roll down his leg. At this rate, he'd be drained dry within a matter of joors.

Not good.

Solitude came at a worse cost than he thought.

At the present moment, Starscream only came up with two solutions as to how to deal with this sort of situation:

1) He could patch up the injury himself. With the right tools and remedies, his leg could become brand new within cycles. The main problem: he had neither tools nor remedies at servo, and it looked liked there wasn't anything of use within his sight nor reach. He omitted that solution.

2) He could send a dispatch for help. The problem was _who_ to send it out to. There were the Autobots. But that was an unlikely option. He refused any and all future requests to join them, and that could've popped an emotional cog with the entire team. He ruled them out. That left only the Decepticons… … …_frag no_. After the infiltration scenario that the Seeker committed, all trustworthy ties with his former master would surely be permanently shattered. He ruled them out as well.

He could trying and send a dispatch to Knockout's location in the med bay. The medic was about the only being on the planet that could trust the Seeker. However, it still seemed like a bad idea, seeing as anyone else besides the doctor could intercept the note and be notified of the Seeker's location. Starscream decided against it.

That left only one more option:

3) Slowly wait for the energon to leak out as he inches his way towards death.

…

_Pit-slag._

Starscream couldn't be in a more terrible position to be in…

…That didn't end at the servos of Megatron.

Okay, compared to that scenario, this was sparkling's play.

Still, this wasn't the sort of situation to take lightly. This was a matter of life and death. He needed help. _Right now_…

_**He turned his head and looked down to find a small metal crate, at least compared to his average-sized Cybertronian body.**_

'_**This wasn't here before!', Starscream thought.**_

_**He shifted his body around to face the crate, with a curious look, indeed, and plopped his aft down onto the hill. He touched the crate with his servos, trying to find the lock to open it. Finally, he felt the lock, and pried it open. The Seeker was shocked to find what he had just uncovered…**_

_**Energon.**_

_**And not just energon crystals…but energon cubes! There must be a dozen of them in here!**_

_**Unfortunately, there was no note or markings or nothing.**_

_**He picked up the crate and moved it all around, trying to find the slightest indicator of who might have sent this. Surely, it didn't fall out of the fragging sky!**_

…_**Unless…**_

_**No. It was sent. Starscream found an insignia marking on the front of the chest. It carried the Autobot symbol. What Autobot would ever be willing to-**_

…_**He knew…**_

…_**Only one living being in the galaxy would ever be so generous to him…**_

Instinct struck.

"Of course… …the Autobot femme."

Arcee was the only one of the Autobots that seemed to reach out to the Seeker and offer her kindly assistance to save his aft.

Twice.

She might've reached out to her teammates as well. Her teammates would still surely disapprove of his presence, but nevertheless, it was worth one shot.

But…

…certainly the Autobots wouldn't take a mere SOS from a Decepticon, let alone a defenseless one. He needed a piece of something to negotiate with. Energon. Information. Something.

What about Optimus Prime? Or, in his current state, Orion Pax? They must know where he has gone.

Or maybe they don't know…

He decided to go for it.

Starscream accessed the transmitting portion of his com-link, searched for an available signal, and typed out the following message:

**::I have obtained information regarding your leader. Bring medical kit. Come alone.::**

There was a frequency that picked up from far out in the distance. It read 'Omega One'. _That must be their base._ He had a brief moment of hesitation. _What if they don't trust me and just ignore me? Or worse… …forcefully bring me to their outpost for more interrogations?!'_

Starscream paused for a moment, then looked down at his horribly mangled leg.

At that moment, he activated the signal to send out the message.

_Let's just hope that Arcee still trusts me._

* * *

**I will _try_ to finish at least one more chapter before next week, because I begin classes next Thursday, and I feel that they will take up most of my valuable time. It's a shame, because I wanted to finish the first act of this story, which is roughly three chapters away. But no matter: the next chapter will contain a cliffhanger which features a brief moment I think everyone will be quite satisfied with. You'll know it when you read it, but you have to wait to find out...or follow, if you haven't already.**

**R&R, as always! They are welcome! :D (Plus, they'll help to speed up the writing process due to motivation!)**


	14. XIII: What Are You Asking Of Me?

**So it's official: school is now back in session... (sigh)... And like everyone else, it'll most likely delay my fics for long[er] periods of time. Nevertheless, I will do my very and absolute best to keep up with the fanfiction! That is a promise!**

**Anyways...Chapter 13! To be very honest, this chapter was planned to be even longer than it is now! However, I've decided to include the next portion in a new chapter, which means I can add more to that one. If I tried to fit everything into this one chapter, I'd probably end up over 7000 words long! I've also started work on the first 1000 or so words for the next chapter, so expect it to be released VERY soon!**

**James Newton Howard - _What Are You Asking of Me? _(from _'The Village'_ soundtrack)**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

_What Are You Asking Of Me?_

Time could not have progressed any slower for Starscream than right now. It was as if the fabrics of space and time were dying down and coming to a halt. Thankfully, his wound was doing a bit better than it was about several kliks ago. He no longer needed to apply rigid pressure to keep his leg from losing much energon fuel. It was still leaking, though it wasn't too terrible.

He was beginning to question whether or not he should have transmitted his SOS.

Another tiny stream of fluid erupted from his wound, dripping down his leg and into the large puddle that had already formed earlier.

Okay, perhaps it was wise after all.

The only cost of it being the Seeker's own pride and self-reliance: two of his own most esteemed qualities.

Starscream was beginning to feel very dehydrated. He realized that he hadn't had anything to consume since the storm struck just a couple cycles ago. Odd… he felt perfectly As an act of desperation, he carefully put a digit in the energon puddle, held it up in front of his mouth, and touched it with his glossa. It was still fresh, but a bit stale, possibly due to most of its nutritive properties already been consumed. Still, recycling the liquid and re-consuming was his only choice for now.

He leaned over slightly and dipped his servos into the puddle. It was still very warm: a good sign regarding the Seeker's condition. Without hesitation, he grabbed as much of the liquid as his servos could hold, brought up both the servos and his helm, and guzzled it all down in one take. He felt its warm contents slide down the inside of his neck all the way down near the spark chamber. It was refreshing, to say the least.

Starscream took another scoop and gulped it down as well. A nano-klik later, he coughed up a substance quite distinct to the energon. Soil: the layer of Earth where he was resting upon. Apparently, it doesn't go well with Cybertronian internal processors.

Duly noted.

The Seeker's rapacious appetite caused him to scoop up and gulp one more swill. Unfortunately, there was no more left for him to re-consume. All he could do was feel the reprocessed liquids slowly glide down and recycle in his spark. It wouldn't bring in anymore more nutrients into his famished workings, but it would keep them busy, nonetheless.

More liquid spurred out thinly from the gash. Starscream began to wonder if repeating the process would help, since it would just spew back out. He covered it

The Seeker needed a way to stop the flow of the injury _right now_.

He needed some help _right now_.

_Right now…_

…

…

Nothing.

Starscream huffed solemnly. He half expected something in the slightest form of assistance to suddenly pop out of nowhere. Sadly, nothing came.

No creatures. No resources. Nothing.

He might as well prayed for an apocalyptic massacre and see merely a scratch on a scraplet, and it would've made a more stimulating impact.

_Calm yourself, Starscream,_ the Seeker told himself. _It's only been not even a joor yet. This is no time to be so skeptical._

All of a sudden, something flashed right in front of the Seeker. It was a very familiar sight to no end. A fluorescent green and white spectrum engulfed his wandering optics.

Starscream's spark began to beat harder at the unexpected flash that stood before him. He was unsure of whether or not it was sent from the Autobot base or the Decepticon warship. He wanted to doubt that it came from the Cons, but they could have very well intercepted the Seeker's signal and tracked his whereabouts. However, he specifically sent the message to the opposing team, as the chances of them coming to aid the helpless, factionless Seeker, while still very slim, were undoubtedly higher than the team that he had so blatantly stole from.

The odds of a faction that seldom killed purposefully applying their morals to an enemy threat were also very promising. Starscream might still be detained and kept under constant watch by them, but, honestly, it was more merciful than falling in the servos of a former master who wanted nothing more than to watch the slowly fading light from the optics of a 'traitor'.

Starscream saw a figure beginning to emerge from the other end of the ground bridge. He had very high hopes that it would be the one familiar being that would commit even the smallest act of kindness for him.

He began to have doubts when the figure approaching him grew larger in scale. It had a white color with shades of orange. It was also being followed by another figure emerging from behind, with a hulking form and a dark green color.

This can't possibly lead to anywhere good…

Starscream slid up the rock he was laying on in order to straighten himself up. The two Autobots stopped at a certain distance from the Seeker, obviously acting skeptical and uncertain about any tricks that the ex-Con might pull off. The white-orange medic took one more step closer to the Seeker and stared down at the leaking gash on the Seeker's leg. Starscream decided that he would be the one to speak first.

"Oh, thank Primus! I was beginning to think my distress signal hadn't dispatched to anyone!"

Both Ratchet and Bulkhead still looked at the Seeker with rather angry optics. They clearly weren't buying his routine.

"What do you want, Starscream?" Ratchet asked in a tone that matched his expression.

Starscream let out a single nervous laugh and answered, "I presumed you might ask. As you can both see… I'm in a bit of a rut at the moment. I, uh… made a slight fault in sneaking aboard the Nemesis, and…er…w–well, you can see that my former brethren did not take kindly to my untimely arrival."

"No slag, Screamer," Bulkhead interjected.

The Seeker sneered at the cynical remark and the derisive nickname. Then he swallowed his dignity and spoke in the most kindly manner that he could produce. "I suppose so. And will you please not call me that?" He added an involuntary and uncomfortable smile to go along.

"Now, I should I do that?..._Screamer_?" The Wrecker shifted his servo into the familiar wrecking ball and inched a step toward Starscream. "On second thought… Why _should_ we believe you in general?"

Ratchet held a servo in front of the avid Wrecker. Surely, he wasn't about to act impulsive. After all, the Seeker couldn't do any considerable amount of damage due to his injury. He spoke again, "Bulkhead… I believe _I_ should be the one interrogating our client. For now, you are making sure Starscream here doesn't do anything irrational himself."

Bulkhead looked into the medic's optics for a moment. He sighed and reluctantly put his weapon away. At least the good news was that the Autobots weren't keen on capturing Starscream and bringing him to their base. No imprisonment today, it seems.

A plus.

"If you patch me up, I might be willing to tell you what I know," Starscream bargained. He wasn't going to let them have an easy trade.

Ratchet folded his arms in disbelief. "Now why would we want to do _that_? After all, you could just flee the moment your wound is completely fixed."

Apparently, the Autobots weren't going to let him off so easily either.

"Have you seen my condition here? I'm leaking energon like an unstable isotope here!"

"And you can continue to leak for all I care! But still…I'll be willing to help if you cooperate with us."

Starscream gave a disgruntled groan and an expression to match it. He sighed and obliged. "_Fine_. What is it that _you_ want, Bots?"

Ratchet's optics adjusted the moment the Seeker asked his question, changing to a more calm expression, though still firm. "You clarified in your distress signal that you had information regarding the current status of our leader. Is this true?"

Starscream winced slightly when a small shock of pain reverberated through his wound. He opened his optics back up and stared up at the medic. "Fortunately, for you, yes." He gave a nervous but assertive smile with his answer. "I think you might find it to be of greater worth."

Bulkhead took a step forward and raised his fist. "We'll be the judge of that."

"Eyup-bup-bup!" Ratchet interjected, blocking the Wrecker with a servo. "_What did I just say, Bulkhead_?!"

The giant green mech sighed and put his clenched fist back down. Ratchet turned back to the battered Seeker and continued. "Before you enlighten us with your findings, Starscream might I ask _why_ you were _snooping_ around Decepticon territory in the first place?"

The ex-Decepticon sunk lower at the inquiry. "After our… er …unfortunate encounter… I decided to go solo in terms of factions. The Decepticons haven't exactly been the best aides in my most recent endeavors."

"Megatron hasn't been very sympathetic of you ever since you filled in his position of leadership during his absence." This time, Ratchet was the one to interrupt.

"I, uh… I would rather not discuss that matter right now," Starscream said dejectedly.

Normally, the Autobots wouldn't turn down an offer to pester a rival Con into oblivion, but apparently, they don't exactly have much time to waste, either. Ratchet replied, "Continue on, then."

"Anyways, during my independent… …affairs, I foolishly thought that I could snoop around the Nemesis and see if Lord M– er, Megatron…had planned anything ever since my absenteeism."

"Did you find what you were looking?" Bulkhead asked uninterestingly.

"Unfortunately… …no…" Starscream lied. He decided that it was best for anyone not to find out about the contraption he retrieved from the warship. This was a mystery that he wanted to try and solve for himself, no matter how problematical it may become.

The Seeker then realized his error, considering that the contraption wasn't the only thing he discovered. "Er, well… except for your seemingly brain-dead Prime."

Both pairs of optics widened all of a sudden. If he didn't have their attention already, he did now. Ratchet then spoke up. "Tell us exactly what you know."

Starscream straightened himself back up and recovered his composure. "Your leader seems to have lost all of his senses. Apparently, he has now reverted back to his old designation, Orion Pax."

The two Autobots did nothing but stare down at him, though it wasn't out of shock, or even concern. They looked as if they were waiting for more. Like they knew he wasn't finished yet. The Seeker continued. "Because of this rather…unfortunate incident, Megatron seized the opportunity to convince him to join the Decepticon cause, giving him a measly task of decoding encryptions most recently found from our time here on Earth."

A pause.

Starscream didn't understand why they looked so unconvinced. Did they not care that much for their own fragging leader?!

Finally, Ratchet responded. "…And?..."

Starscream paused, then a frown spread across his face. "…You already know that, didn't you?"

"More than you should know," Bulkhead answered.

_What?!_

"I–I–I…I don't understand," Starscream said with confusion galore. "Uh, I–"

"We were there when he left," the Wrecker said. However, the medic turned his helm to him and gave him a small, lukewarm glare. Bulkhead then realized his err. "Er…at least I was."

Ratchet looked at Starscream again. "Nevertheless, the information you have given us is of no use to us. Therefore, I believe it best that your wound will not be repaired."

"What!?" Starscream angrily responded, the reflective lights of the ground bridge beaming off of his face. "B–B–But I summoned you here respectfully! You came, and I said all that can be said! Is that not enough!?"

"It doesn't help us narrow down the current whereabouts of our leader!" Ratchet began to raise his voice. Only slightly…but that was all he needed. It startled the Seeker to no end. The medic went on. "If you are able to tell us where the location of the Nemesis, then we might consider your request."

The Seeker grew even more mad, furiously digging his talons into the dirt underneath him. "How am I supposed to know where the ship is?! I mean…It's a ship! It moves! How am I going to locate it so easily!? The only method I can think of is for me to fly within its proximities and dispatch the coordinates to your base, but given my current condition, flight is completely out of the question!" He paused to catch his breath, then looked back up with a wicked smirk and deceptive optics. "…Unless…"

The Autobots exchanged looks, obviously thinking the exact same thing. Ratchet glanced once more at Starscream, then again at the Wrecker, giving a giant huff and spoke.

"Let's get out of here."

With that said, the duo turned around and started walking back towards the ground bridge.

Pit-slag.

Un-_**fragging**_-believable!

He took way more damage from Megatron than any Cybertronian should have to endure, and now he was being given nearly the same treatment from the supposedly 'good' side?

No, not under these circumstances. Nobody was going to walk out on him like this! Not to the great ex-SIC of the Decepticon faction!

Starscream adamantly clenched his servos into the ground and pushed himself from the ground. Every fiber in his body ached overwhelmingly, but he didn't given a scrap: it was better than the communicative cruelty he was being given at the moment. He at least hoped that he was getting the leaving Bots' attention.

Fortunately, he was. As the Autobots were right at the pede of the bridge, they immediately stopped at the sound of grunts from the determined Seeker behind them. They turned around to look and managed to give the most shocked expressions that Starscream had even seen from either Bot. He was completely standing straight up, arms at sides, giving the most unwavering look he had ever produced.

The Seeker lost a small combination of both balance and strength due to his rash but firm action, and stumbled backwards onto the rock behind him. He clung onto it with both servos behind his back, heels dug into the dirt, and aft grinding harshly against the solid earth material as a result of his falling back.

"Starscream!" Ratchet suddenly yelled. "What do you think you're doing?! It's dangerous to even stand up with such a condition li–"

"You rejected my plea to fix me up, and now you actually have the audacity to _tell me to stay put_?!" The Seeker yelled back.

"Starsc–"

He let out a loud, frustrated roar and proceeded. "Look, I wouldn't normally cooperate with you Autobots, even in the most dire situations such as this! But you know what? I sacrificed my own pride and self-esteem to respectfully call you over and settle an exchange in a mature matter! But now I see that you can't even stay mature enough yourselves!"

"You've stabbed us in back countless times before," Bulkhead interjected. Ratchet didn't even bother turning his head to the Wrecker. He just stay with an expression of dumbstruck "So why should _we_ have to be the ones to trust _you_? Why should _anyone_ have to trust you?!"

Starscream's face grew more and more furious and despondent. _No. I refused to be treated this way any longer! I've been broken, beaten, battered, bruised, and scarred for the past deca-cycle alone! And I wasn't even in the fragging wake of battle!_

The Seeker struggled to find the right words as he pulled himself higher onto the rock until he was flat up against it in a comfortable stance. The right words would help dispute his plea to the Autobots; the wrong ones could result in further injuries.

One string of words ran through Starscream's mind. They were true, yes, and they _would_ help in this case… but he hated to admit it. Doing so would result in even more loss of dignity.

Oh Pit, even that would be a pitiful excuse to decline the statement.

Before he even knew it, the words slipped right off of Starscream's glossa.

"You know why I trusted _you_, Autobots!? You know why I confidently called you specifically over!?" Slag, this was going to hurt his ego. "…Because of your fellow Autobot soldier… Arcee."

Both mechs stopped with wide, concerning expressions. Good. _Now_ it seemed that the Seeker got their full attention. He continued on.

"Yes… in the wake of my isolation, she actually managed to save my hide… …twice, to be exact. The second time she probably isn't even aware of yet. To be completely and brutally honest towards you, _Autobots_…" He spat out the last word so dejectedly. "…She's the only one of your team to actually show some mercy on me for a change!…Okay sure, she nearly snuffed my spark the moment I let slip the fact that I was the murderer of her most recent partner, but… …you know what?…"

He paused to prepare himself for the grim truth next.

"…Who can blame her? Who _wouldn't_ avenge the spark of a close comrade? If I was told the fact that someone so dear to me was struck down in cold blood, I'd have lay my bursting fury and vengeance down upon them as well! It's a matter of instinct and morality, if you asked me.

"But, nevertheless, I must continue," Starscream went on, clutching the armor over his spark chamber due to his standing up and talking for an extensive amount of time. "I don't know if she ever revealed to you all of what I'm about to say next, but if not, allow me to expose the facts. When she went on what I can assume was an energon expedition with your other fellow bot, Bumblebee, she ran across me again and, just like the previous encounter, demanded bloodlust and revenge. Because of this, an accident occurred in the cave chamber that we were in, and I was hopelessly trapped under a fallen boulder. I don't know what sort of thoughts ran through her mind afterwards, but in a sudden change of spark… she… …she saved me from my doom."

Starscream brought the conversation to a halt and decided to watch the expressions of the witnesses. Sure enough, they were no less than dumbstruck by everything that the Seeker had just said. They just stood there for the longest time, waiting for him to continue. Finally, when they realized that he had finished, Ratchet spoke.

"She… …s–she did that?"

Starscream smirked, though it was more out of content than deception. "Believe it, or simply don't. Perhaps you should be proud of their teammate's sudden conversion in her principles."

Though he did get through to the Autobots, they both still contemplated their own thoughts. Perhaps they were considering his exchange now.

"Look…" Bulkhead finally said. "…we understand your concern about us wanting to patch you up. Heck, we even believe your story, however rehearsed it may seem. But unless you provide us with a way to help get our own leader back, we'd be more than skeptical to help you out."

The Seeker's smile slowly faded away. Primus, these mechs were quite stubborn.

"I told you all that I know. What more could you possibly want from me!?"

The two Autobots exchanged more glances and came to a conclusion, to which Bulkhead offered. "Tell us the location of Megatron's space bridge. We need to get to Cybertron in order to begin our plan."

…

…

…

"_**WHAT!?**_"

That simple word frightened both the mechs entirely.

"THEY FINISHED CONSTRUCTION ON THE SPACE BRIDGE WITHOUT _**MY SUPERVISION**_!?"

The bots didn't know what to do in this situation. All they could do was stare and listen.

"EVEN UNDER MY ASSISTANCE, THAT KIND OF TECHNOLOGY WOULD TAKE ANOTHER **DECA-CYCLE** TO COMPLETE! HOW DID MEGATRON FINISH THE TASK SO FRAGGING FAST!?"

Starscream smashed his servos brutally against the hard rock. He expected his former master to try and continue where he had left off since his absence…but how? It'd be virtually impossible to finish without the scientific knowledge of the ex-Second-In-Command. Such technology is never easy to comprehend. Perhaps one of the Vehicons 'stumbled' into his private quarters and came across the Seeker's scientific video logs. Impossible: he previously lost those records eons ago when they fell into the flames of Vos. At that point, though, he didn't need them, as he had memorized their descriptions entirely by memory.

Perhaps the Third-In-Command had secretly documented the Seeker's logs himself and kept them hidden in case any of the evidence was completely lost in war, including Starscream. Possible: Soundwave was a particularly sneaking spawn of a glitch, and he was Megatron's most trusted specialist and coworker. _Back-stabbing fragger_.

"Starscream?"

The Seeker snapped back into reality when Ratchet finally spoke. The two opposing mechs stared at each other in a short battle of perception. Starscream came to the conclusion now…

…He has them right where he wanted.

All he needed to do now was to slowly reel them in.

The Seeker gestured his servo down to the gradually seeping gash in his legs.

"Now…I'd like my end of the deal met… …_doctor_."

* * *

The next several kliks were no doubt the most complicated exchange of negotiations that both Starscream and the Autobots had ever made. The bots were very cautious and strict about how much they could trust the ex-Con, and that meant every little solitary detail. For each piece of information regarding the space bridge's construction, controls, and location that was unveiled, the Seeker was rewarded with a small perk at certain points.

Firstly: the medic helped to slow down the blood flow of the Seeker's wound and avoid slipping into unconsciousness.

Secondly: the medic sent away the Wrecker so that the Seeker wouldn't fear being pounded into scrap metal.

Thirdly: the medic called back the Wrecker to send up the medical kit. (The Autobots wouldn't trust him, yet they lied about one aspect of an agreement themselves?)

And lastly, the blessing of it all: medical treatment.

Oh, sweet Primus.

As Ratchet opened his kit and began to search for the right tools, he reluctantly sent Bulkhead a request to go back to base and wait until he was finished. He had skeptical feelings about doing it, since Starscream could be fake most of his misery in an attempt to strike him down while they were alone. However, he also knew that the Seeker was very jittery when it came to the Wrecker's presence, and he wanted no fatal accidents occurring during the procedure.

Although… he could very well make it look like an accident…

No. Such an idea would abandon all Autobot protocols. They've killed before, sure, but only whenever other lives were in jeopardy. Doing so in a situation like this is out of the query.

Starscream watched the Autobot medic fumbling inside the kit, unaware of the mixed feelings running through his mind. Observing the other's expressions didn't help much deduce his feelings either; all it showed was frustration of trying to locate his apparatuses. During the process, he did turn his head up at the Seeker. No response. All he did was look for a nano-klik, probably only watching out for any suspicious actions, and went straight back to the kit.

Starscream decided to break the silence, using possibly the most unexpected of inquiries.

"A-A… …Arcee doesn't happen to be back at the base, is she?"

Ratchet had just found the right primary implement- a slab of pewter- as the question was asked. He immediately stopped while holding the piece and began to grip it tight. He looked back at Starscream and answered.

"I'm surprised that it took you this long to finally ask…"

Starscream couldn't help but feel quite embarrassed, ridden with guilt of his earlier outburst concerning the Autobot femme.

"…but nonetheless, she is currently occupied with escorting duties, and I doubt that she'll be back until the morning. Sorry to disappoint you, Starscream."

All the Seeker did was look off to the side, trying to avoid further optic contact and shame. While the medic went back into the kit to find his next tool, the injured mech decided to break the tension again. "Huh…pity…"

No response. Just the further sounds of metal instruments clanging against each other in the rather disorganized case. The loss of their Prime must have taken a larger toll the team than the Seeker thought.

Perhaps if they do find him, restore his memory, and bring him back from the Decepticon Pit-hole, courtesy of the Seeker, he could use his credited assistance to more advantages.

Ratchet found and pulled out his second and third implements- a blowtorch and a saw- and set it down on the ground, starting his third descent into the medical kit.

"Why have you become so concerned with one of our soldiers, Starscream?"

The unanticipated interrogation startled the injured jet as he heard it and looked straight back at the medic, who was now staring at him questioningly.

He huffed and confessed his case. "Not really keen on an ex-Con probing around the business of one of the faction's opponents, are you?" The comment received him an un-amused glare from the Autobot. "Nevertheless, if you must know, Arcee is now quite possibly the only being that can even remotely trust me. At least that I can think of."

"Every Decepticon has turned on you?" Ratchet asked, actually showing some concern this time.

"That tends to happen when you 'betray' them," Starscream said, motioning his digits in a quotation manner. "Megatron has allegorically put a bounty on my helm; Airachnid left me for scrap, so she no doubt despises me; Soundwave lives to serve Megatron: need I say more about the silent one; Breakdown is still technically under my oath since I saved his spark from the cursed humans, though he's probably not so welcoming about that."

"What about Knockout?"

Starscream raised an optic ridge at the enquiry. He had forgotten all about the medic.

"**To tell you the truth…not too long ago, I was offered the same proposition by another Con… …the only problem is, you abandoned him just about deca-cycle ago. And, to tell you the truth, I would still very much take **_**his**_** offer over yours."**

The Seeker let out a little smile at his short recurrence. He then realized that he hadn't answered the query after several nano-kliks.

"…Okay, he _might_ still have high hopes for me. But even if he _did_ trust me, he's situated in a territory of a faction that no doubt wants me terminated. Any means of contacting him with high chances of enemies intercepting the missive and tracking me down are strictly out of my own comfort zone."

Ratchet found his third and possibly final implement- a conduit of medicine- and set it down on the ground, continuing his non-threatening interrogation. "What made you change your view of her so quickly? Not too long ago, you nearly tore her spark out!"

"Er- that's merely an overstatement. But I understand your trepidation. She did tell you about the encounter straight after, right?"

"Optimus told me about it, actually," Ratchet corrected.

_Damn, now the __**Prime**__ knows about this?_ The Seeker thought. _Figures._

He went on. "Well, as you now know, instead of leaving me for the Allspark to claim, she rescued me from my impending doom. It befuddled me, because she could've just struck me down right there while I was on the brink of hopelessness. And yet, she _still_ saves me?"

Ratchet opened the medicine container and began applying some around Starscream's wound. "_Sometimes, even the most vengeful of sparks can be redeemed in a single action_… I learned that quote from Optimus eons ago. I figured he specifically meant the Decepticons. But apparently it applies to the Autobots, too."

"Don't tell Arcee I said this, but… …I do hold a considerable amount of respect for her now."

The medic finished coating the gash with the substance, grabbed his saw and thin, metal slab, and began measuring the gash to perceive the right amount to cut up and cover up the gash with. "I am quite surprised to see that an enemy isn't always biased towards his own opponents. Not everyone is who you think they are by most of their dispositions."

"Really?" Starscream queried. He put on a smug grin and looked at Ratchet. "And is this how you think of me as well?"

Ratchet let out a sort of sole, gruff chuckle (or something sounding like one) and started slicing away on the block. "I never said that about my views of you."

Starscream felt somewhat insulted by the answer, and crossed his arms in a putting manner.

The wedge was now completely sliced, and the medic hovered it over the Seeker's wound, reaching around and grabbing his torch from behind. "Now, hold _very_ still: this isn't easy."

"I can't imagine otherwise," the Seeker added.

Hot but somehow soothing flames touched Starscream's leg as Ratchet was now in the process of fixing it. It felt relaxing to know now that he will continue to live on for at least another few cycles.

Still, he half-hoped to find Arcee coming out of the ground bridge first. Alas, that was not meant to be. Perhaps, however, they would cross path again. And when they do, Starscream would certainly be more welcoming of a trusting spark in his lifecycle.

He even half-hoped that the grumpy medic would tattle to the femme about the Seeker's opinion of her.

* * *

**R&Rs are always welcome!**


	15. XIV: Run For A Fall

**My my my, it's been soooooome time since I last updated this story. You have NO idea how much guilt has befallen on me because of this! As you could imagine, the start of school (first semester of college for me) took a HEAVY toll on this. Nevertheless, I will be _greatly_ striving to plan/schedule my writing to coincide with my time and creativity.**

**But with that said, this time we have (gasp!) the longest chapter I've ever written for a story on here! Nearly 7000 words on this chapter _alone_! This beats my Alphascript score by about 300-400 words. XD**

**Now, enough footnotes: let's continue one, shall we? :)**

_**(An extra special treat for StarXCee shippers: you'll all most likely go nuts for the ending. But don't skip ahead, please! I worked SUPER hard here!)**_

**Chapter Inspiration: 'Run For A Fall' by Epica**

_Do not use the past as an alibi _  
_For all of your deficiencies always standing by _  
_Face your negligence, do not fool yourself _  
_Shortcomings will soon appear _  
_For weakness shows itself _

_Blind from your success and all of the excess _  
_Deaf from the praise you had _

_Don't cry out of self pity in forcing your way through _  
_For I will not be vulnerable to slander made by you_

* * *

**Chapter 14**

_Run For A Fall_

_**18 joors later…**_

The last mega-cycle has been the most hectic and problematical that has ever occurred in the history of Team Prime. Only several disseminated vocabularies could be coherently connected together to sum up the craziness: multivariable algorithms and synthetic energon formulas; clouded judgments and suffering friends; reawakened entities and global apocalypses; absent memories and lost comrades; and luckily, overall, recuperated memories and mended comrades.

Every Autobot and their human counterparts had gathered in the lobby of Omega One to rejoice in the welcoming back of their leader and Prime. After an insane, cataclysmic, and indescribable expedition into the heart of Earth, the power of the Matrix was lost from the servos of Optimus, and thus had reverted into his time before his familiar title, and he had been tricked into joining the Decepticons. All hope seemed inevitably lost, but through another expedition into the heart of Cybertron itself, the Matrix was recovered and imparted back to the Prime, and now everything had returned to its original, apt ways.

The rest of the night, up until nearly midnight, consisted of all the members, minus the humans, who had journeyed back to their respective homes, and filled in on every minor to major detail that went on while their leader unknowingly defected to the opposing faction. Though it wasn't technically much, each member went on and on about how they've felt completely hopeless and stuck without Optimus, particularly Ratchet. Since he was the nominal Second-In-Command of the group, all the burdens of being a leader were unwillingly bestowed to him. Nevertheless, after all the trouble and flaws he had made during the Prime's absence, Optimus still thanked him for taking over his position and taking care of business. The medic was very grateful of it.

Arcee had mostly strayed away from the conversation, though still stood close by to listen to everybody else's exchanges. She was still thankful that Optimus Prime was back, but she wasn't one to show extreme enthusiasm around others. At least not on the outside. The femme leaned against the balcony railing and watch Bulkhead and Bumblebee share their own enthusiasm.

However, Arcee couldn't help but catch one slight but important element to the story that the Bots told: when they told the part about getting to the space bridge to get to Cybertron… they never explained _how_ they found it in the first place. Instead, Ratchet managed to elusively slip past that possible query. Even Bulkhead at the time seemed to fidget around a little. _What are those Bots up to?_

"For all the chaos we have been through in these past cycles," Optimus began to say to his fellow teammates. "I am pleased that we have all joined back together once again."

Everyone in the base smiled, including the Prime himself. Ratchet said, "And we couldn't have done it without each other."

Arcee's smile quickly faded away. That was a lie. A partial lie at the very least.

Before she knew it, the single name slipped right out of her mouth.

"Starscream."

Suddenly, everyone in the base looked straight at the femme. Their facial expressions made it look as if she issued a blaspheme. Bulkhead in particular carried a look that suggested more denial rather than shock.

"I beg your pardon, Arcee?" Ratchet finally asked. His voice seemed much calmer than how he usually asks it.

"…you left out the part about Starscream."

Ratchet looked at her in sheer confusion. However, that expression slowly morphed into one of complete shock and awe. Almost immediately, he stood up straight from the medical berth that he was sitting down on and spoke. "…How did you know?"

**As expected, the space bridge was in plain sight. It looked finished and capable of proper use to other galaxies, such as the likes of Cybertron.**

**Out of the blue, Arcee realized one detail: how did Ratchet know where exactly the bridge**_** was**_** in the first place? Such an item could not be discovered coincidentally; Megatron would've no doubt kept it well hidden from the team, which she was right about. It was hard to find indeed.**

**No… someone knew about this place. But certainly not an Autobot. Not a Con either, since none seemed Pit-bent on betraying their own faction.**

**Unless… it was someone who **_**used**_** to work for them. There were only two renegades that came to mind: Airachnid, which seemed **_**very**_** unlikely, considering a member of Team Prime would turn up dead.**

**The other… was…**

**Of course…**

"**Thank you, Starscream."**

**The words slipped off her glossa without warning. She hadn't noticed until a nano-klik later that she was standing right next to Bulkhead, who looked back at her with sheer confusion.**

**Well, this was awkward. This would be rather hard to explain. Arcee instantly came up with a defensive statement.**

"**Who else could it be?"**

No doubt about it: she was right all along.

Apparently, her assistance and acts of kindness had inevitably paid off.

"Well, for one," the femme began. "A member of the Cons wouldn't be willing to betray their master without an iota of fear. Although, only an affiliate _must've_ known where the space bridge was located. It would most likely be one who was associated with the Cons, but is no longer allied with them. Starscream is unaligned and an ex-Con. Therefore, he must be the only reasonable one to confess the location of the space bridge."

Ratchet had frozen where he stood the entire allegation. A moment after Arcee had finished, the medic slowly sat back down. Never had the femme seen the grumpy mech so dumbstruck. It was more beautiful than she thought.

Prime was obviously lost about what Arcee had said, since he himself held a look of surprise. Yet, he turned to the medic and asked, "Is this true, Ratchet?"

Ratchet closed his optics and sighed in self-dismay, then turned to the Prime. "…Yes. It is, Optimus." He opened them back up and looked to the Prime. "I've made a foolish mistake;…I believed that Starscream was still not worthy of trust to be of help to us, and I–uh… I decided to leave him out of the details of your rescue simply because I figured that he didn't deserve the recognition."

He paused for a bit before adding another statement. "In all fairness, however, Bulkhead was there with me at the time, and he refused to tell you the details as well!"

The Wrecker shot up from where he was and curled his fists, though Optimus stopped him by holding a servo up before the green mech could do anything. "Easy, Bulkhead," he said, and asked, "Is it also true of your association with Ratchet?

The green mech reluctantly nodded without so much as a sound, then nonchalantly stepped back to his original position silently looked away. The Prime carried an unreadable face, then proceed to continue.

"I am indeed upset that the two of you have circumvented the segment of Starscream's encounter and assistance… …However, I am grateful that you two admitted the truth as well. I understand that cooperation with a former rival is a hard itinerary to accept. I, myself, admit that it wasn't the first choice to cooperate with Megatron. But nevertheless, we had to acknowledge the facts. And, despite that situation, the two of you–" He exchanged gratifying glances with both the medic and Wrecker. "–have followed the same path of morality. For that, I am very thankful."

Ratchet and Bulkhead, who had both held expressions of anxiety for the longest time, took their time and finally responded with nods and hums of content.

"Ratchet. Bulkhead. Bumblebee. Arcee…" Optimus said, looking at each Autobot individually with warm smiles. Then he straightened up. "…Today has been a most productive cycle. Because of this, Team Prime deserves some well-needed time off."

The rest of the team looked up at him and all smiled back.

"Thank you, Optimus." Arcee was the first to reply.

The Prime began walking over to the corridor leading down to the rest of the base. Right at the entrance, he stopped for a moment, then turned around and faced his subordinates.

"As for the evidences concerning Starscream… his assistance with us Autobots is very much appreciated. And who knows?… There may be hope for him after all." With that said, the leader turned back and left the room.

A long pause lingered over the other four members of Team Prime. It was broken when both the Wrecker and medic spoke up.

"Well, I believe it should be time for this old veteran to recharge," Ratchet said.

"Ur…me too," Bulkhead added, rubbing his helm and followed behind the latter.

All that remained were the golden scout and his femme partner. Both of them looked at each other, not sure what to do next, leaving another awkward silence.

[I guess we should go as well.] Bumblebee said.

Arcee kept her face on him, and then smiled. "Yeah. I guess so, kiddo."

h

The scout nodded and went down the hallway. He expected the femme to follow behind. She didn't. Instead, she kept pondering something.

When Optimus mentioned Starscream and said there still may be hope for him, Arcee seemed to recognize that at that moment, the Prime was staring and putting his attention right at her.

* * *

Many thoughts traveled through the mind of Arcee: all of which were confined in a maelstrom of perplexity. All that the femme could do was sit on the side of her berth in her private quarters and contemplate every little factor that she could grasp without strain.

There was never any doubt that the Autobots would struggle unbearably in the wake of Optimus Prime's absenteeism. When he inadvertently joined with the Decepticons, it was as if the Pit was unleashed on the face of the team. They were called upon to heed and carry out orders that none of the members could decide on so easily. Even Ratchet, the oldest Cybertronian of the group next to the Prime, was utterly baffled by what decisions to call. Optimus was the only one who could swiftly perceive a problem, analyze its complications, evaluate both the complications and advantages of it, and choose one with less flaws… all within a matter nano-kliks. Eons of endless leadership, wisdom, and history can form even the most brittle of beings.

It was certainly a great miracle of Primus and the great Allspark that the Autobots were able to recover the power of the Matrix– the only source of Optimus' memory– and bring it back to him in one piece. It was a completely impossible task, to say the least: quite possibly _the_ only one to ever be uncompleted without its chosen one knowing.

Before his memory was wiped, however, the Prime entrusted a most sacred key, to the Matrix itself, to an unlikely figure: Arcee's own human counterpart, Jack.

Arcee noticed that Optimus continually kept an itinerant optic on the young human. It was very strange that the two had never spoken to each other privately. Yet, there seemed to be a presence there that the Prime could see and the other Autobots couldn't. The femme wasn't sure of how the Matrix's powers worked in various scenarios, like if it gave him a heightened perception of identifying another lifeform's essence. Or maybe his insight of emotions was just that brilliant.

It was most likely the latter alternative that seemed more credible.

If he could see a force within Jack Darby, then Optimus must truly hold an understanding of what can make an existence truly valiant: all the more to add to the Matrix choosing him in the first place. And that made more sense than Arcee realized.

One thing still didn't quite add up within the past few cycles…

…Why was Optimus Prime so concerned for Starscream?

Clearly, the damned Seeker had lived in a Decepticon-filled lifecycle, and had been raised his entire existence to trick, lie, cheat, mock, brag, and above all… _kill_. He had personally taken armadas into Autobot–infested territories and reduced them to nothing more than short piles of rust and ruins. He was responsible for the death of countless, innocent lives: possibly as much as the leader of the Decepticons himself.

Arcee's servos clenched into rage-induced fists, shaking horridly as she was reminded her past, futile hunts for vengeance against creatures who had caused so much pain and destruction among friends, family, and herself. Old, terrible feelings began to stir up from their extensive slumber.

'_Starscream is a sadist, a hypocrite, a murderer, and a fool'_, the femme thought to herself. '_Anyone is still open for their redemptive qualities, as Optimus made aware… However, it doesn't mean that _I _have to always believe that they will.'_

But Optimus himself still seems to observe the Seeker and still says that he is open for true perfidy against his old faction in favor of a new, better one.

Fists stopped shaking altogether. Then they slowly began to relax and unfurl from their offensive state of mind.

Arcee sighed in dismay of her own doubt, which sounded more like a scoff than anything. If the Prime wished to reach out to the ex-Con and allow him to change beliefs, then who was she to stop him? Whatever cockamamie ideas that he had in mind, they would have to take effect.

The blue Autobot thought over the details for another period of time.

…

Apparently, Optimus forgot about the last intolerable crime that he committed: the personal extermination of one of their only remaining members.

That's the problem that didn't seem to add up. Surely after that sort of misconduct, followed by the millions of other atrocities that accounted for his records, the Seeker would only be brought into custody for the sole purpose of shooting a full blaster clip between his optics. Yet, he seems to be let off the hook so easily.

Once again, servos changed into fists.

'_Scrap it, Prime…'_ Arcee thought furiously. _'What do you see in that Primus-forsaken glitch, anyway?'_

That brief outlook was immediately thwarted by the sudden sound of a pede stepping inside the femme's berth room.

She nearly jumped out of her protoform when she heard it. She regained all of her conscious and calmly turned around to see the young, golden-colored scout standing at the foot of the doorway. All he did was stare at the femme in slight curiosity.

[Arcee?] Bumblebee said. [Is everything alright?]

The femme kept her optics on the scout for a short moment. It was such a simple question, but it felt like the most impossible decision to try and decide. Finally, she made up her mind and responded. "I guess… …not."

Bumblebee took this as a cautionary sign and took a few steps toward Arcee and stopped so that he was halfway between her and the doorway. Dealing with these sorts of situations wasn't exactly his best suit; it would usually befall to Optimus, and under medical circumstances, Ratchet. Of course, Bumblebee knew the femme wasn't concerned about her health.

They both stood/sat in silence for about a klik, but to the two of them, it felt like an eternity. Arcee began to swing her legs out of minor strain. Bumblebee also started to fidget around with his own pedes, servos behind back.

The young scout tried to think of the best sentence to say first. What he came up with wasn't necessarily the best choice.

[Are you thinking about Starscream?]

Had Arcee been distracted instead of focusing all of her attention on her partner, she would have nearly fallen off her berth at the sudden mentioning of that blasted Seeker. Fortunately, she managed to withstand her sedentary position. She quickly brushed her servos down both her things and grasped her knees, trying to come up with the right- no, _true_ answer, to her comrade's query. At last, the blue Autobot gathered her thoughts and found her response.

"Yes… …No… …well, partially."

Bumblebee still wasn't sure if that meant yes or no. He asked another question. [What is the rest of your mind thinking about, then?]

"Optimus."

That name came to mind much faster than the preceding answer. Much easier, too.

Arcee looked straight at the scout; they were at equal optic levels, in contrast to the size of both the femme and the height of her berth. The young mech was apparently trying to rationally link the two answers together, because he held a look of bewilderment, with his helm slight turned and staring off into the distance. Arcee found this rather amusing, and decided to watch as her subordinate try to figure out the puzzle. After a few moments, she went on to ask her question.

"Bumblebee… Do you think… that Optimus is hiding something from us?"

As if right on cue, the golden scout snapped back into reality and looked at the femme. [What makes you say that, Arcee?]

Once again, her legs began to slowly swing back and forth, this time as a result of contemplating the concerning the two mechs on her mind. "He seems a bit too trusting when it comes to Starscream," she said. "Do you think so?"

Bumblebee kept her optics on Arcee, unsure of what the right answer was. Of course, it didn't matter. It didn't feel like a simple yes or no…

It felt… …indefinite…

Naturally, the scout didn't want to admit it, but if he didn't say a work (bleep, for that matter), he'd be stuck in this position for an eon or two. So he opted for choice number 2.

[To be honest, Arcee… I don't know.]

"Figured as much." Arcee said it so fast, like she knew exactly what the reply was going to be. After another long moment, the rapidly shook her helm and threw her servos up in the air. "Look just forget about what I just said, okay?

Bumblebee wanted to say so since he felt obligated to. Yet, he also didn't want to walk out on his partner when he knew that she needed somebody to talk to. He didn't feel like the right one to do so, but he didn't want that to stop him.

"Okay, Bumblebee?"

The scout tried to interject.

[But Arcee–]

"_**Okay!?**_**"**

The word came out so sharply that it caused the young, unstable mech to stagger backwards, missing the doorway by mere inches and instead hitting the wall next to it. His helm arched rearward, due to the rebound, and also hit the wall. A feeling of aching and discomfort soon quickly followed suit, causing him to grasp his helm with both empty servos and beep in pain.

Arcee's optics widened in fear, realizing the mistake she unintentionally made. Immediately, she shot up from her berth, onto the floor, and dashed her way over t o the bruised mech. When she arrived at his side, the femme reached up with very delicate digits, resting them on Bumblebee's frail cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Bee!" Arcee exclaimed, using the scout's nickname as a means to calm him down.

Thankfully, it did. Shortly after, the golden scout lowered his servos onto the femme's own ones and slowly lifted his helm up to look straight into her optics.

[Sorry, myself.] He bleeped in response. [I still feel so fretful after our heated battle with Megatron.]

"I don't blame you," she replied. "Not everyone has the strength to match the leader of the Cons. Optimus is the only one who has equal power and force, and even he had difficulties dueling it out with Megatron."

Bumblebee moved his servos down Arcee's arms by the elbow joints and gently guided them down and away from his face. [Well, we no longer need to worry about that for now, Cee], he said with a rise in flux on his faceplate, representing a smile.

"I guess so," she dully replied.

The scout's smile slowly disappeared, sensing the tone of his partner's voice. Her optics indicated confusion. She was obviously still thinking of the Seeker. He didn't want to pry into her thoughts any longer, but he felt obligated, as a comrade, to help out in any way he could. In this case, prying seemed requisite.

"Why do you not trust Starscream?"

Arcee stood where she was next to Bumblebee when he asked. Somehow, she half-expected him to ask about the Seeker again.

"I–I'm not sure, Bee," she responded. "I guess… I think it has to deal with the evidence of his past."

[You don't believe that Cons deserve second chances?]

She nodded, pulling her arms away from her partner's and turned around. A deep sigh escaped her vocal chords before she continued on. "I know that I should feel content and dutiful about redemption amongst Decepticons. Scrap, I'm willing to go as far as to accept the very thought of it. But… …not with Starscream. I… I–I feel that he's done too much in his past that can't be overlooked."

Bumblebee kept still, unsure of what Arcee was trying to convince him of. He decided to go straight for the bullet on this. [Countless of other Cons can be just as cruel and wicked. What makes you think Starscream is worse than that?]

"I… …"

This was where she finally became stumped, stopping dead in her tracks, right in front of her berth. All that the femme could do before thinking up an answer was put her servos on the edge of the berth, still facing away from the scout.

"… …You know, Bee," she began. "…how you have that certain someone that seems to get on your nerves, but you don't exactly why?"

That statement itself seemed too rhetorical. She knew exactly why she hated him.

The young soldier took a few nano-kliks to think before finally answering, [No.]

Arcee was hoping that he would say the opposite. Nevertheless, he was still an evolving mech who had much to learn, so it would take him a couple vorns or so to develop that sort of illogical abhorrence. Of course, sometimes Cybertronians can make enemies at the beginning of their own lifecycles.

However, she definitely was not prepared for the next inquiry.

[Does this all have to do with Cliffjumper?]

…

…

Arcee had frozen.

…

She hadn't heard that name in only about a deca-cycle.

Yet… …it still struck her like a piece of shrapnel to the helm.

She hadn't even realized the damaging claw marks that she left on the side of her berth.

Bumblebee must have caught this, because the next thing he did was say, […I shouldn't have said that…] It was followed by a quick, fading sounds of pedes hitting the base's solid flooring, and a shout in nearly unintelligible beeps.

[_Forgive me, Arcee!_]

Arcee did not see any of this due to her back being turned, but she could very well deduce all that was going on. Rage and fear had swiftly come and gone by within the terribly small time frame, subsequently leaving a layer of dead emotions covering the clear, apparent air.

The femme was no doubt able to forgive the young scout for his impetuous action. However, she couldn't muster up the will to forgive herself.

Instead of making things even more complicated in her mind than they already were, Arcee decided it best to go for a much-needed recharge. Since her servos were still on the berth above the unexpected markings she made, she unwaveringly pulled herself up onto the empty metal slab and started arranging herself into a comfortable position, on her side and servos cradling her fragile neck.

She tried not to worry about her obviously shaken partner. Surely, he would recover from his mess.

Or perhaps not.

Either way, Arcee did everything in her power to forget about Bumblebee.

About Optimus.

About Ratchet and Bulkhead.

And above all…

…About Starscream.

* * *

Of course tonight was going to be difficult to recharge through. It was inevitable. What Arcee didn't expect was that no visions or nightmares occurred during the lunar cycle. Strange… she had waited for a mottled onslaught of them to plague and attack her cognitive processors, rendering her troubled and distressed.

And yet… it didn't come.

This troubled the femme more than she wanted to.

Sure the cerebral pandemonium would be painful and leave her frazzled without question. But at least she would be expecting it.

Her internal clock read quarter-past three. And yet, still nothing came.

_That_ was the problem.

For nearly 5 of those earth hours, she had hopelessly stayed in constant on-and-off recharging mode; she had lied down in her berth in this state, dreading and fearing; she had prepared her mind for the worst imagery and words to ever cross together and form inside her helm.

And… _nothing_…

…

Maybe _that_ was the problem.

Maybe it's because the worst would come only if she _didn't_ expect it.

If that was the case, she should expect the bad outcomes much more often.

A limp smile grew on Arcee's lipplates.

Because of this entire ordeal, Arcee decided it best to just get up and walk around the base. Clearly, if the femme was going to undergo complications with resting, she wouldn't rest at all. Slowly, she had crept off her berth and out of her accommodations.

There wasn't much to explore inside Outpost Omega One. At least for a member of Team Prime. To newcomers and visitors, however, there would be a lot to discover around the base. Visitors never do come to the base, excluding the five humans. Not to mention that no newcomers would ever come here due to the location being undisclosed to any outsider who hasn't received the Prime's intergalactic dispatch in the past stellar cycle or so.

The outpost held the usual necessities: the vestibule, training areas, armory, medical facilities, berthrooms, and the washracks, an earthly invention so cleverly adapted from a human invention and designed/fitted for Cybertronians to use on themselves. It immediately became a great way for the Autobots to clear way of any external grime on their thick, metal covering, without having to manually reach around inaccessible parts of the form to scrape grime off of.

Knockout would most certainly be proud of this sort of device.

When she carefully peeked into everybody's quarters- nobody had bothered to close their own doors- she noticed that each member was resting in a position that coincided with their most prominent characteristics. Bulkhead was resting in an awkward, spread-out pose, limbs hanging over his berth and lying on his side with his front facing the doorway; Optimus, being the firm but kind spark that he was, had his entire body facing up, backside down, arms tucked to his sides; Ratchet was sort of a combination of both, with the added action of having one of his arms covering his optics. Obviously, the young human female was beginning to test his tolerance.

'_Stay strong, Ratchet,'_ Arcee thought with a smile. _'soon enough, you'll have a much needed break from Miko.'_

Bumblebee was offline as well, which is a good thing considering the recent comment he made earlier. However, his posture was more curious: he had his front facing away from the doorway, and his body looked to be in a curled-up position, arms looking to be tuck under his knees. His helm was also directed towards his knees given the current view the femme had of him.

Perhaps he was more upset about his choice of words than Arcee predicted. She was half-tempted to wake him up and apologize to him for the way he acted against him, but decided not to since she never felt any reason to waking anyone up unless it was absolutely urgent.

And right now did not seem urgent enough.

She had never walked around the outpost in the dark, nor has she actually seen it apart from her own room. It felt… eerie, to say the very least. Of course, there was the dim, pure white luster of the backup lights that glowed on the ceiling every lunar cycle, leaving little specks of light for anyone to see well enough into the light.

Traveling around the base- to every room possible- only took away all of about 10 or 15 kliks of Arcee's time. Although, she still felt no urge or desire to go back to berth. All that remained within her was a case of insomnia. '_Perfect…' _she thought. Because of her condition, she went with the option of walking around the base's main chamber, which was also dim like every other part of the base. Even the familiar glow of the mainframe wasn't there. It felt very odd, indeed.

Arcee had nothing else to do to pass the time, so she came up with the only solution that her mind could fully comprehend.

Quietly, she made her way around the bend of the room and over to the mainframe. During the Autobots' time spent in this base, she had only ever seen Ratchet or Optimus use the system to its whole advantage. However, that did not mean that she didn't observe what keys and buttons the two had used to fully operate all of its programs.

Arcee stood in front of the oversized supercomputer and carefully observed all of the buttons, most of which looked the same but carried different commands and coordinates. Through total recall, the femme tried to remember the combination of codes that Optimus used to turn on the entire system.

She pressed one button. Then pushed another.

_**BEEP**_

With a flash of light and that soft noise, all of the screens were brought to life.

'_Success.'_

With another flash, the middle screen switched to its familiar main menu. There were many programs on the menu to choose from: examine the fluctuations of Earth for any nearby, fertile deposits of Energon; send an embedded message out to any and all available signals for alerts, communications, and SOS's; check the system's archives for previous messages and signals that have been received from since the Autobot's base was first built, to right now.

The last option was what caught Arcee specifically wanted.

More buttons were pressed, and soon the blue Autobot was able to access the archives. The list already consisted of dozens (possibly hundreds) of saved posts. She started from the most recent of them and began to work her way down from there.

The first several messages were fairly apparent: It was the communications link from here to Cybertron, when Arcee and Jack went on their journey to find the entrance to Vector Sigma. The second one consisted of a link from the base to the space bridge with a connection transferring from what appeared to be a location over one of Earth's seas. The Decepticons must have contacted the bridge area at one point.

The third was exactly Arcee had been looking for, even if she didn't realize it.

**::I have obtained information regarding your leader. Bring medical kit. Come alone.::**

Right next to that embedded code was an image of Starscream.

Unbelievable.

Un-fragging-believable.

The Seeker rejected any and all offers to join Autobot forces, having vowed isolation with only the will to resolve his own issue, and he actually had the audacity to ask for- no, _extort_ help from Team Prime?

He even reject all hopes to reunite with the Decepticons.

So why does he still act like one?

Arcee felt cheated… no, betrayed was a more fitting term. She had once again given the slightest amount of trust to a Con who was nothing but a spawn of a glitch.

'_You… you…'_

"You bastard!"

All of a sudden, Arcee inaudibly shrieked to avoid detection. Unfortunately, it did not help at all that she slammed her curled up fists onto the control panel in front of her, creating a contrasting loud _**bang**_.

Silence then filled the room, just like the femme's mind during the entire time that she couldn't recharge. For once tonight, she finally felt calm. It wasn't necessarily a good thing, but it was something.

…

"Arcee?"

The little blue femme almost jerked up in fear under that tremble-worthy voice. However, she managed to maintain her casualness and pushed herself away from the workstation. Sure enough, when she turned her full attention to the Bot in front of her, there was no mistake about who it was.

The Prime towered over his female comrade with an expression that seem to show that

"What is the matter?" Optimus asked. It seemed as if he decided not to poke around the base of Arcee's emotional turmoil and go straight for the center of it.

Arcee thought it best to just confide with her biggest problem: go straight for the center as well.

"Why do you seem to trust Starscream so much, Optimus?" It came out so blatantly. "Just… why? Why do you feel the need to have such a traitorous Con should come into our ranks!? Hmm!?"

He looked up at the mainframe screen and saw Starscream's headshot, understanding why she was asking about it just no. And for once in the femme's lifecycle, the Prime actually looked… distressed. In battle- the heated wake of battle- he's let out the emotion before; in this manner, however, he seemed like a completely different mech. That alone also made Arcee feel distressed.

Optimus seemed to refrain from answering the questions altogether, still staring at the screen. After a few moments of hard thinking, he turned his helm back to Arcee and tried his best to answer.

"…I'm sorry if I meant to cause you stress and harm."

…

_That's it?_

_That's all that the Prime could say?_

Fortunately not. He continued further.

"Starscream is a Decepticon, and a remorseless one at that. I am willing to admit that."

'_No slag,'_ the femme thought sardonically.

"However, I am willing to conceive the idea that out of all the Decepticons on this planet, he is the one that is most likely to change."

Arcee uncurled her servos when she realized that she still held them in a defensive stance, and looked up at her leader, raising a questionable eyebrow.

"Most likely?" She asked.

Optimus nodded in response, and went on. "In the years that I've lead the Autobots and fought the Decepticons, I have learned that the most loyal of Megatron's combatants never turned away from his ruling; they would always do everything in their own power to live and serve him, despite his ruthless, oppressive conduct. Most of them are afraid to defy his orders because of Megatron's likelihood of terminating them; others oblige willingly, and believe Megatron to be the true savior of our home planet."

He took a couple steps closer to Arcee. "With Starscream, the disposition of these circumstances is much different. While he does oblige to the needs of his master, he does not seem to do so in a contented manner. In the times I've seen him in the wake of war, he never looked like he truly respected his master, even during the times where he came out and said it.

"However, that didn't mean that he always hid in fear of Megatron: he's been willing to bend and even break rules to disobey his master in protest, and left evident hints of his longing for power and control over the Decepticons. In fact, not too long before you came into our ranks, Arcee, Starscream began to develop several plots to assassinate his relentless leader. As you could gather from the facts now, he never succeeded… at least until deca-cycles ago, when Megatron was presumed deceased. As you've seen, Starscream unapologetically took over reign of the faction.

"But his pride got in the way, and thus Megatron came back from his slumber and regained his leadership. Since then, I've noticed that Starscream has become more vulnerable than ever. Perhaps in the time of his leader's absence, he finally felt completely rid of his fears. Yet, Megatron still came back from the very brink of death. Now he's more scared for his life than ever, because he is held responsible for Megatron's care.

"Therefore, I did not doubt that Starscream would either try to abandon the Decepticons, or face termination himself. When the preceding alternative happened, I figured that Starscream would came to face us to propose a truce: to aid us in our quest to stop Megatron's tyrannical deeds."

"So wait a minute."

Arcee had listened to the entire monologue, and decided now to interject.

"You say that Starscream is actually subject to change factions with the facts of his complicated relationship with Megatron? If that's the case… why should we still trust him?"

Optimus' face stayed the same as it was when he first made his statement. But now he seemed more prepared than before on his disputes, as he was more quick to reply this time.

"While I understand your concern for Starscream's unquestionable acts, I feel that he has finally had enough of Megatron's actions to the point of leaving the Decepticons. When you told me of what he said the last time the two of you met, that was where I felt I rested my case. With him most likely done with the Decepticons for good, I believed that he may consider an allegiance under our care: not for him to join us, but at least to help us Autobots, with us giving him some support in return."

Arcee stood still for a few moments, trying to contemplate her leader's beliefs.

"…So… that's it?" She said. "You're just going to let him off the hook that easily after all that he has done for us!?"

The Prime's face now turned into a small frown, not out of anger, but of sorrow. "I'm sorry if you do not approve of this method, Arcee."

The femme's arms flew up into the air. "Do you realize what he has done to us in the past!?"

"I am aware of that," Optimus said solemnly. "It pains all of us every cycle." He suddenly bent down on one knee to match Arcee's helm level, propping himself up with a servo on his bent knee and the other on the femme's shoulder. "But I feel that the best way to deal with it is to leave it in the rust and try to move forward from it. Some atonements in our lifecycles will feel very hard to let go, I know. Some of them will even shape the foundations of our individualities. But never- I say _never_… let the worst of them get in the way of your viewpoint of lives."

_Dammit_… the Prime was right, of course. Many terrible things have happened to Arcee in the past, and all she ever did with it was to exploit her reasoning of vengeance.

Whether she liked it or not… there was no denying that those very quotes apply to her.

Optimus added another footnote. "Don't forget… Starscream has faults and atrocities committed to him in his own life. I do not fully comprehend what all of them could be, but I do know that every being has these faults."

Now silence once again filled the room, sealing the void of dim lights and low bleeps from the mainframe.

Thousands of images and words popped into Arcee's mind: some familiar, but also some new ones. The atonements were coming back to haunt her. But soon, they were pushed away by different, new images that managed to sum up her current emotions right now. Or at least the ones that she _knows_ she should feel.

Arcee backed away from Optimus, but not out of disagreement, but the complete opposite. She turned around, went to the mainframe, punch in a combination of keys on the panel, and pushed down the lever next to her. Immediately after that, the bright, green light of the ground bridge illuminated the entire room.

She then turned to her still-kneeling leader and spoke up with a slight smile.

"I think we should personally thank the one most responsible for your return."

Optimus returned her smile with one of his own and began following his smaller comrade.

The bridge led them to what seemed to be a forest. The night sky was filled with hundreds of stars, each connecting together to form constellations. The grass beneath them was rather short, even by Cybertronian standards. Arcee looked straight ahead of her to greet the broken spark that would appear in front of her adjusting optics.

Unfortunately, when she finally got a clear sight of her surroundings, she did not find the Seeker to be right there. Or anywhere here, for that matter.

What did capture Arcee's attention, while Optimus was traveling through the bridge behind her, was a giant rock where she expected Starscream to be. Not only that, but it looked misshapen.

From claw-marked writing.

She read the text in front of her, and could not believe what her optics had just witnessed.

Perhaps there could be a slight glimmer of hope after all.

In front of both Autobots, the messed-up writing read:

_**YOU'RE WELCOME, ARCEE**_

* * *

**This begins the start of the section of the story where 'Slag Happens'.**

**In the meantime, R&Rs are more than appreciated!**


End file.
